Hello everyone, and welcome to the fourth installment of CFtSC. I'm sitting here, trying to come up with a note, but nothing's really coming to mind. Oh well, I suppose the story can speak for itself. I also pumped this one out pretty quickly. Relatively quickly, that is. I only actually started on this a couple days before release, having been distracted with other matters.
Regardless, it should be the quality you deserve. Enjoy!
P.S.: Knight's kinda a dick.
Beta: Knight of Cerberus
"It takes dedication to blow a 3-0 lead in as many minutes."
The girl's eyes widened in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Sis?"
The young boy smiled, blushing just a little. "Yep... Is it okay for me to call you sis?"
She blinked rapidly in response. "Jaune, you already have six sisters-"
"You're more of a sister to me than any of them! All they do is paint their nails, and talk about cute boys." He sputtered, the words sour on his tongue, even as his friend and mentor giggled. "You listen to me when I say I want to fight, that I want to be somebody."
"Of course I do." The girl responded. "But your sisters are your family. I... can't replace them."
Jaune took the girl's hand in both of his, looking up at her face. "You don't have to replace them! You'll just be my seventh sister!" He declared
She was his sister, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Well," the girl leaned forwards, pinching his cheek the way she knew he hated it with a smile, "I suppose I can't say no to such a cute younger brother."
"Hey! Let go!" Jaune squealed in protest, throwing her other hand to the side. "I'm not that much younger than you!"
"You're not, but who's always been the one looking out for you, hey?"
"It's been you..." Jaune confirmed, looking to the girl's feet. "I'll miss you when you're gone."
Jaune's honorary older sister scoffed. "Don't worry, Vale isn't that far from here – nor is Patch. I'll be coming back to see my mother on the holidays, so I'll be sure to check in then. You, on the other hand, need to make sure you keep going to your classes."
"But school is boring." Jaune protested. "If I don't make it into Signal, I promise you I won't stop trying."
"No... You're going to promise me you won't stop going to primary school if you can't make it."
"But I-"
"But nothing." Her glare cut off any further protest. "What I've taught you isn't enough to get you into Signal - it's nowhere near enough to get you into Beacon. If you can't make it into Signal... If you can't get formal training from anyone, you'll need to be educated."
That was just a gentler way of telling him to give up. Jaune nodded firmly, though he didn't mean it.
"Good. Now, let's get you home. Your father is probably worried sick."
Jaune nodded again, honestly this time.
The blond pulled back out of Velvet's hug, smiling down at her eyes as his hands lingered on her shoulders for a moment. It was beyond good to see her again, that was for sure, though he felt a pang of guilt at seeing her happy smile, and expectant eyes.
That guilt gave way to fear as her eyes hardened and her smile dimmed.
"So. What are you doing here?" Velvet asked casually, though the question hit him like a cinder block from thirty thousand feet.
"I..." Jaune looked aside. All the excuses he had, all the lies he could come up with... he looked into her eyes and her steely expression, and sighed. He'd consider her feelings first and foremost:
"I can't tell you."
The rabbit faunus – his childhood friend and self-proclaimed big sister – tilted her head in annoyance, adjusting her stance, becoming more defiant. "What do you mean you can't tell me?"
Jaune pressed his lips together, before taking a deep breath and sighing again. This was going to be hard to say. "If I told you-" He hesitated. "I just... I can't tell you."
"Why not?" The question was just as firm as her stance. He knew that wouldn't have satisfied her. "Why the hell not, Jaune?"
"Because if you knew and didn't say anything, it could get you expelled!" The boy hissed out quietly, the pressure getting to him. He could see her shocked reaction, and he wasn't even done. "And if you do say something, it probably lands me in prison!"
Velvet stood there for a moment, shell-shocked.
"What did you do?" She rattled off. There was one thing evident in her voice – one thing Jaune hadn't wanted to hear. It was something akin to fear, but not like it.
It was concern.
"I did..." Jaune shook his head rapidly, disturbing his blond locks. "I did something, Velv'. I don't want to say it – I've said too much already." Just telling her this much was risky. They'd no doubt go to her if he was found out. Ask questions.
He rubbed his temples, sighing as he realized what he'd told her already had already effectively doomed her.
Here I go dragging people into things again...
"Look, just forget I said anyth-" A sharp jerk of his collar pulled him back to reality, as Velvet shook him vigorously.
"Damn it, Jaune, what did you do?!"
And now I've made her cry...
"H-hey, it's okay! It's okay!" He managed out, though the girl shook him with the force of a small, immature girl treating a doll roughly. "It's nothing to worry abou-"
"Like hell it is!" Velvet let out loudly, sniffling as she threw him back. Jaune stumbled, almost falling backwards in his surprise. "Talking about expulsion-no... prison?! Are you out of your damn mind?! Get a hold of yourself!"
"Get a hold of myself?" Jaune breathed out. He had to admit, that angered him a little. "Get a hold of yourself! I'm telling you I can't tell you, because I'm worried about you! Isn't that obvious?"
"Well, a fat load of good that's going to do when they come to me after they lock you behind bars, asking about you!"
"You'd say you don't know anyth-"
"Tell me-" Velvet stomped forward, staring up into his eyes again. "So I'll know how to lie if I need to."
"I can't tell you. I just s-" What his older sister just stated aggressively clued in. "...what?"
The girl stepped back, looking down to her feet before she cast her eyes back up. "You're family, Jaune. I won't abandon family..." The words she left unspoken played out in his head as if she'd said them herself.
'Not again...'
Jaune nodded rapidly, stepping into the girl and hugging her closely. "Yeah, I understand." He brought up a hand to rub at the back of her head, holding her tightly against his chest for a moment as he spoke. "You really want to know?"
He felt her nod into his chest and sighed.
"I..." How did he put it? "...got my hands on some fake transcripts to apply for Beacon's entrance exam... then I cheated..." He pursed his lips together, not continuing.
"You... cheated?"
"I swapped my initial test results with somebody else when we were doing the written exams." Jaune still felt super guilty about that. "Turns out the guy, like, aced his test. So – even taking the physical portion of the test into effect – I wound up with a passing mark."
Velvet stepped back, out of his hug. "That's... a lot tamer than I thought things were. I mean, the first thought that ran through my head is that you killed someone or something."
"What? Really? Gods no, I'm not that kind of person..." Jaune reassured.
"You could have killed someone, assumed their identity, scrubbed your own name from the records..."
Jaune turned his eyes skyward for but a moment as Velvet slowly began rambling, before stepping forward and snapping his fingers in front of the girl's face. She stood up straight, as if she'd been in a daze.
"Was I doing it again?" She asked innocently after a moment.
Jaune just sighed and nodded.
"Sorry."
Jaune repeated his sigh. "Look... I can't explain this all at once." The blond looked up, and rolled his eyes at Velvet's pout. "Okay, seriously, it's actually tiring me out. This is a lot to go through."
The rabbit faunus let out a huff, looking as if she was about to protest, before she nodded her agreement. "To be fair, I didn't exactly give my team the best excuse when I told them I needed to head out for a bit, so..."
Jaune blinked. "Your team?"
He hadn't been able to catch his poorly thought out blurb, and Velvet glared at him completely unimpressed.
"Yes. My team. A team that is mine." She explained sarcastically. She actually looked amused.
The blond sighed, waving it off. "Yeah, I know, I know. I've had a long day."
Velvet almost yawned in perfect time with his comment. "I'll introduce them to you. And you can introduce your team to me." Jaune thought he saw the girl freeze for a moment, but maybe that was just his tiredness kicking in. "It is late; we should get back to our rooms."
The two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment or two longer, before Jaune turned to the side, clearing his throat. "Should we head down, then?"
"That would be a good idea, yes."
Jaune felt awkward about the whole situation. It felt... off? Velvet was being way too casual about this. No doubt there were things stewing in her head.
He should have been able to tell what she was thinking. When they'd spent time together before, he could read her like a book – a book with simple words and pictures. Now, though? It was like she was written in a different language.
She was willing to lie, in order to keep him safe? That wasn't what the old Velvet would do. The old Velvet would have told his mother when he came over after curfew to see her. She had nothing but the absolute respect for authority. It didn't matter that he was family that she wouldn't have wanted to lose.
She'd changed, in the past year. No, even longer. Since she'd left for Signal. But Jaune supposed that was natural. He'd only seen her once or twice, and chatted like old friends.
He didn't know her now.
The blond turned, headed back to the rooftop access, when he stopped. He turned back to the girl, Velvet having being moving to walk alongside him.
"Your contact info is still the same?" Jaune felt compelled to ask, ashamed that he actually hadn't messaged her at all in probably the past two months.
"Yeah. I considered just messaging you when I figured out you were here, but..." She blushed. "Sorry about being so physical."
Jaune let out a snort at that. Who was he kidding? She was still the same old Velv'.
"We can talk more tomorrow if you like." Jaune offered, before he bit off a yawn.
"Sure." Velvet nodded, smiling. "Go get some rest."
Jaune let out a low groan as he trudged back towards his dorm. After descending the stairs from the rooftop, and saying his farewell to Velvet on the floor her dorm was on, he was hit by a wave of fatigue. He'd managed to stay somewhat energized when he considered the fact that Velvet may have been the reason he'd have been put behind bars – though that was stupid, looking back – and now that the threat was gone, he just felt like a sack of beans.
He took in a deep breath, swiping his scroll across the lock, and pushing his way into his team's dorm. Everything was pretty well the way it was when he left. Ren was on his bed, and gave him a nod as he entered, before the blond turned to Blake. The girl met his eyes over the top the book she was reading, before returning to it.
"Enjoy your walk?" Ren asked casually. Jaune turned back to him and nodded, stretching his arms high above his head.
I gotta pee.
"Yeah, I did." Jaune tacked on, looking towards the open window, where he'd been standing before he'd left. With a sigh, he made his way towards the bathroom, turning the handle and stepping inside.
"Jaune, wait!"
Ren's warning came too late, Jaune looking back at the boy from the door frame. He turned to look into the bathroom after seeing the boy's scared gaze, and his eyes widened.
There was a splash of water and the sound of a shower curtain being drawn quickly. His eyes didn't function properly for a second, having been burned out by the strain of seeing something he was sure he'd never forget. A blushing Pyrrha stuck her head out from the other side of the curtain, Jaune able to see the suds on her arm, a hand clutching the fabric that denied him a heavenly view he'd gotten just a glimpse of.
"C-could you, uh, leave?" The head of that wonderful body asked.
Jaune stood there in a daze for a moment longer, before he turned and walked out of the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind him. Before he forgot himself, he opened the door again – just a crack. "Sorry!" He hissed back inside with his eyes closed, shutting it immediately after.
Twin sighs resounded from the room behind him, one exasperated, and one a sense of defeat. Jaune turned. Ren just shook his head, looking disappointed. Blake's book was closed – something that was honestly quite threatening – and glared at him as if she could will his head to explode.
Jaune ducked his head down, and walked back to his bed. Able to feel Blake's stare as he moved, he shrunk inwards. When he finally sat, she seemed to relent.
"That was my fault." Ren stated simply. The blond looked up to the boy, not having expected an apology from him at all. "I was supposed to tell you that Pyrrha was in there. You seemed distant earlier, then you left for your walk. So I... neglected to tell you, and could not warn you in time."
The boy blinked at the other male member of his team. "No, it's my fault," Jaune countered, "I should have realized, what with the door being closed, and Pyrrha not being in the room."
Ren nodded along sagely, as if forgiving.
"Pervert."
Jaune sighed, turning towards Blake. "You have to realize that was an accident, right?"
The girl tilted her head at him, her black locks moving as she did. "You stood there seconds longer than you should have."
Jaune couldn't help the blush that came to his face, remembering what he saw in that brief moment of time. "I-I was surprised!"
"Sure you were." Blake let out, opening her book and ignoring him completely. She muttered something that he couldn't hear.
"Sorry, what was that?" He asked her to repeat what she said, but she clearly was ignoring him completely now.
Great. Jaune sighed, standing and moving over to their closet. He couldn't even remember unpacking their bags. Could you make an even bigger fool of yourself, Jaune Arc?
He changed into his sleep clothes – still not willing to risk breaking out the onesie again so soon – and returned to sitting on his bed. In the silence of the room, with Ren appearing to be meditating and Blake both ignoring him and being invested in her book, he could hear when the bathtub started to drain.
Minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Pyrrha stuck her head out. Her eyes met Jaune's, and the boy looked away with a blush.
He heard every step she took across the floor, and glanced as she got a little closer. He looked away, when he envisioned her nude, wet, and covered in suds.
She sat down across from him, on her own bed. A bed that wasn't far from his own. The white bathrobe she was wearing looked comfortable, but Jaune kept his gaze above her shoulders. She was staring directly into his eyes, after all.
"Sorry..." He managed to squeak out, shuffling uncomfortably.
The girl just smiled at him, in response, and Jaune had to admit, his heart skipped a beat. "It's alright. Accidents happen."
That... that was it?
The redheaded girl stood, looking away. Jaune subconsciously took the opportunity to look lower. He gasped, before covering his eyes. "Y-your knot's loose!" He let out quickly, no fear of the repercussion of looking for fear of what would have happened had he not noticed.
He heard the girl shuffle across from him. "I-It's okay now..."
Jaune uncovered his eyes, to see Pyrrha's blushing face and a redone knot tying her robe tight. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks..." The girl offered, before walking over to the closet. Jaune looked towards the window when he realized she was getting a change of clothes. He heard the bathroom door close once again.
Jaune breathed quickly, not realizing he'd been holding it for quite a while there.
He heard an unfamiliar sound, before looking to the source.
Ren was... chuckling? The boy looked up with a slight smile. "Would you like me to teach you meditation?"
Blake snorted from behind the blond, over on her bed.
Huffing Jaune crossed his arms, recognizing when he was the butt of the joke. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up."
"Pervert." Blake called out again, in a singsong voice.
The blond growled, before turning and throwing his pillow at his partner. He was as surprised as she looked, a moment before it made contact.
The pillow hit Blake's face, and stuck.
Pyrrha walked out of the bathroom, wearing her pyjamas while brushing her teeth.
Ren snorted in laughter.
And all hell broke loose.
Pyrrha kept her legs rigid and her head up, looking at the professor expectantly as Ren stood beside her. It wasn't a situation that was common for her, in any which way, but she knew how to act and what to say.
"...which is why we both came here this morning. To formally apologize." Her partner summarized, standing in a way not unlike hers.
The rotund man before her – his strength clearly visible to someone who made a championship career out of being able to analyze her opponents – let out a low hum. After a moment, he began to stroke his chin, as if he were considering their words carefully, letting out a considerably longer hum.
Professor Peter Port looked up at the two of them and nodded. "I understand where you're coming from, I'll admit. You two both understand the consequences of tardiness – both here and in the field – correct?"
"Yes, Professor." Pyrrha confirmed.
A moment later, the head of Beacon's Grimm Studies let out a hearty laugh. "It's certainly a rare occurrence, having students come apologize to me for their tardiness. I accept your formal apology." He looked to Ren, to Pyrrha, the girl reflexively stiffening. "Do your best to ensure it doesn't happen again."
"Understood." Ren said in a voice that all but guaranteed it. "We'll see you tomorrow then, Professor."
"Indeed. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two."
While the professor turned, making his way back behind his desk to go over whatever he'd been looking at before, Pyrrha looked to Ren, who met her eyes. The boy nodded in the direction of the exit, and they made their way out.
Once Ren closed the door behind them, Pyrrha let out a relieved sigh.
"That was unbelievably stressful..." Ren agreed, Pyrrha watching as the boy rubbed at his forehead. "When he's not lecturing, he just has this... presence."
Pyrrha nodded in agreement. She felt thirsty. "He's a huntsman, that's for sure." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, pointing back down the hall. "Shall we go?"
She could visibly see Ren bite back a yawn, the boy nodding along. Pyrrha felt a little bad for him. Her partner clearly wasn't a morning person at all – even worse off than herself, it seemed. They agreed on getting up early after the wind down from that massive pillow fight the night before. A pillow fight she ultimately won without being able to use her Semblance, even if Blake's own Semblance caught her off guard once.
As they made their way down the hallway, Pyrrha turned to her partner, considering the boy for a moment. He talked when he needed to, and not when he didn't need to. For how simple it was, it made him complicated.
She used to know someone like him when she was younger. He had been the type of person who didn't enjoy small talk. Thinking Ren might be the same, Pyrrha really didn't try to get him to say anything, but rather just walked alongside him on the way to their first class of the day.
"You think Jaune and Blake are awake?" Ren asked after a minute or so of walking, catching Pyrrha a little off guard – and bringing a faint blush to her face as she remembered what the latter had done last night.
"I think they would be, but Jaune seemed tired last night." Pyrrha answered honestly.
"Does that assumption have anything to do with him seeing you-"
"Don't say it!" Pyrrha let out quickly, cutting her partner off as her blush grew. She'd have slugged him one in the arm if they were any closer, but instead just rubbed her own shyly. "Well, he was ill the other day, or so we think." She took in a breath. "Think he'll be better today?"
"I hope so."
Their conversation ended there, with Pyrrha still blushing at Ren's comment. He had to bring that up again. Maybe her initial assessment of him was wrong, and he was just a silent joker?
Three more minutes of walking in silence didn't give her any answers. The two approached the door of their first class of the day – one their entire team was taking together. A core class, focusing on the handling and usage of Dust. Nothing Pyrrha could admit she was really interested in. Despite its name, it was probably more theory than anything.
Pushing their way into the classroom, Pyrrha was surprised to see a familiar head of black hair with a bow on top. It was a lecture hall not unlike Professor Port's and it seems they were going to have the front row again. As she tugged on Ren's sleeve and pointed, she noticed a blond mop of hair resting on the desk next to Blake. They approached, and it seemed like Jaune groaned reflexively.
"Are you okay...?" Pyrrha offered, noting that like the first class of the year, there was a seat available on either side of the duo. She hadn't considered it in Port's class – having been late – but why didn't they shuffle over so they could sit as partners? Or maybe she was just missing something.
Even thinking on that – and recalling what happened the previous night – Pyrrha silently took the spot next to Jaune as people began to file in. The boy seemed to shuffle nervously, letting out an "I'm fine," and she could feel a faint blush of embarrassment hit her own face in response.
They hadn't talked about it, aside from Jaune's apologies. And, in all honesty, that was probably best.
She looked down at her chest, ensuring that everything was in order, before she looked up to Jaune. He turned his head away quickly. He'd been looking again. Pyrrha knew why, but refused to think on it any further as a throat was cleared at the front of the class, silencing the students.
"Hiya! Good morning!" The young looking woman at the front of the class spoke. Pyrrha had to blink, to make sure she wasn't just seeing things: She looked like she was their age, with thick framed glasses and long, bubble gum pink hair. "Welcome to... well, you can call it a lot of things: You can call it Applications and Usage of Dust, or Dust Physics, or Dust Mechanics, or Dust one-oh-one." The apparent professor smiled, before posing. "Or you can call it what I like to call it: Science!"
There was clapping from a few rows up, and the girl bowed, before standing to her full height. "My name is Sheryl J. Peach. I am also in charge of ensuring you leave my class with all of your limbs, but that isn't really important. You guys did sign the waiver after all."
Pyrrha turned to Jaune, who turned to look at her with an equal amount of surprise. Pyrrha leaned forward, and met the eyes of both Ren and Blake as well.
Yeah, they were all just as confused as she was, it seemed.
"Now, first things first!" The professor went to her desk and picked up a neat, thick stack of papers. "You all get to take a test!"
All around the room, people started mumbling and grumbling. Even Jaune, seated next to her, let out an annoyed-sounding sigh.
Pyrrha took it upon herself to reassure Jaune. "It's our first class, it can't be too bad."
Jaune just whined. "Pyrrha... you never say that..."
The redhead blinked at his reaction. "Why not?"
"Now then, don't open these until I say so." As if responding in place of Jaune, Professor Peach slid a small booklet before her, titled 'Day One Test', proceeding to hand them out to everyone. It looked to be about five pages or so. Probably just a little introductory thing, nothing more.
Once the professor was in front of them again, standing with her hands clasped behind her back, Pyrrha readied her pencil.
"Alright, begin."
Pyrrha opened her booklet, and stared, looking at the first question.
No.
She looked to the second question, and then flipped the page. She flipped through all the pages, until the last, reading every question.
No, no, no...
Next to her, Jaune's pencil snapped in his fingers. "Called it." He hissed.
She vowed to never say those words – to never tempt fate – again.
Blake's head smacked down on the desk before her as she sat, glad to be finally done with that infernal test. It was absolutely nothing but degrading; she could hardly take it seriously! It even went so far as to ask her questions she'd hadn't even the slightest clue how to answer.
At least it was multiple choice, but she wasn't sure it was made that way to be forgiving; chances are, the test was only multiple choice so that they could actually complete it. She looked to her left, seeing that Jaune was staring at the last question carefully, before making his choice – though she didn't see what it was. On the other side of him, Pyrrha stared straight ahead with dead eyes, having finished the test before her with clearly a less than savory result, like herself.
Ren seemed content, having finished first of everyone in the class. Either he gave up early, or he was some kind of genius.
A few minutes of waiting later, a tall boy with short brown hair handed in his test shaking his head as if disappointed with himself. After he returned to his seat, the unassuming sadist at the front of the class cleared her throat.
"Alright!" Professor Bitch squeaked. "Now that everyone's done, how many of you think you passed that test?" There was a pause, and Blake looked back, seeing one or two hands go up. Further down the row, Ren's went up as well, though half-heartedly. Maybe he hadn't done well after all? "So few? That's because you've all received an inferior education. My job is to correct those deficiencies in the brief time I have with you. By the end of the year, you'll be able to pass this very test I just gave you. That's all. You can go."
Blake glared at the pinkette before her words registered, and the girl blinked. That was it for their class? There were still like thirty minutes left!
"Holy hell that was hard." Jaune let out somewhat quietly. Blake nodded along with his comment, returning to staring daggers at her least favorite Beacon professor until she left the room with their tests.
"What was even the point of that?" Pyrrha asked aloud.
"It's an exercise in our best interests." Ren noted. "It wasn't handled the best, but it gives us an idea of where we're going to be in a year from now. From the sound of things, we'll be given the same test at the end of the year. She gave us her expectations."
Blake sighed, understanding Ren's explanation, but still not necessarily forgiving the professor. She didn't want to vocalize her distaste, however, and went for another angle. "She seems awfully young to be a professor here."
"She really does..." Pyrrha agreed.
From across the room, Blake picked up a stray statement: "I want Professor Peach to step on me..."
Blake coughed to hide the involuntary twitch of an ear that thinking on that statement brought forth. "We've got time before our next classes now. What should we do?"
"Cafeteria is open all day because everyone has such weird schedules." Jaune pointed out, turning in his seat. "We could stop there if anyone is hungry, and then do something else during our lunch period?"
Ren stood, Blake noticing that most of the other students were already beginning to make their way out. "That sounds fine with me, actually. Neither Pyrrha nor I went for breakfast this morning." The boy turned his eyes to her, then to Jaune. "Did you two?"
"Nah, not today." Jaune mentioned as he shuffled out, Pyrrha already standing. "Blake?" The boy added, posing the question to her as well.
"I read while you slept in." She hadn't been hungry regardless, but she had to admit she was really feeling it now. "Food sounds... great."
It didn't take long at all for them to reach the cafeteria. Blake even had a little bit of a smile on her face when they pushed their way inside, amused by her team's antics. There was a really fun moment – at least, to her – when Jaune asked Ren if he was serious about the offer to teach him meditation the previous night. Pyrrha's confused expression had almost even brought out a chuckle out of her.
Idly, while they lined up for food – a short line, of course – Blake looked to Jaune, the boy standing behind her. He was sort of staring off into space, yawning.
"Still tired?" Blake asked, garnering the blond's attention.
Jaune didn't answer immediately, but nodded a moment later. "I don't know why..." He yawned again, blinking rapidly. "I think everything is just finally catching up to me."
The girl suppressed her own yawn, nodding along. She still didn't know if Jaune had really been ill over the past couple days, but that last statement was pretty telling. After all, she didn't really think it could have been something as simple as nerves, especially when it seemed like it had lasted so long. She shrugged internally, stepping forward as Ren got his food, the boy moving aside to make way for Pyrrha. "Maybe after classes you should have a nap."
"Maybe..." He somewhat agreed, otherwise silent. After a moment, Blake stepped up to the counter when Pyrrha stepped away, a bowl on her tray.
The old lady behind the counter nodded upon seeing her, smiling. "I know just what to get for you. Give me a jiffy..." She retreated around the corner, headed back to the kitchen. Blake had no idea why Beacon was set up in such a way: it seemed like you didn't have a choice in what you were given to eat. The other day, for dinner, she'd been given a decent helping of bread and some hearty stew. That would have been acceptable if everyone had gotten stew, but it seemed like they'd all had gotten something different.
Her musings were disturbed as the cafeteria lady came back, heckling with a tray in her hands. "Here you go, darling. Enjoy."
Blake took her tray, looking down on it as she stepped to the side, where Ren and Pyrrha were waiting. She had a couple links of sausage, and one slice of watermelon. Hardly what she'd think was a balanced meal. She looked over to the trays of the other two, noting they had an odd assortment themselves. Ren looked like he had a simple salad and a slice of ham with syrup on it. Pyrrha had a bowl of beans, and, like, four entire carrots.
Somehow, Blake didn't think the cafeteria lady knew what she was doing.
"Not again..." Blake heard from behind her, looking over her shoulder as Jaune approached, her eyes went to his tray, and her stomach growled.
"You got swordfish again?" Ren asked, exasperated. Blake somewhat ignored the boy's comment, able to see the evidence with her eyes alone.
Gimme.
Blake's eyes were on Jaune's tray the entire time as they moved to a table, sitting. When they settled in, and Jaune didn't touch his fish for a good three seconds, Blake spoke.
"Are you going to eat your swordfish?"
"Uh..." The girl didn't see the expression on the boy's face, as she was too focused on the lustrous, grilled scales covering the delicious meat on his tray. "It's kinda all I have?"
"I'll trade you." Blake offered, pushing her tray towards him quickly, still staring.
There was a sound of surprise from Jaune, Blake finally looking up to his eyes.
"Sure?"
Blake beamed, pushing her tray towards the boy as he lifted her new meal over top. The girl took it from his hands, dragging it before her. She reached down, gripped the swordfish by its tailfin, and stopped, having momentarily forgotten her table manners. She only stopped for a moment though, to grab her knife as she filleted the thing in mere seconds.
"Ah, so that's how you eat a swordfish." She thought she heard, but all her senses were focused on the succulent meal before her.
By the time she was done, there was nothing left but bones and the organs the cook neglected to remove. She'd probably have eaten those too – the organs, not the bones – but she patted her gut, more than satisfied.
Now, if only she could get that for every meal.
She blinked, looking at the others and the state of their meals. Sometime during her reverie, both Pyrrha and Jaune had finished eating themselves, and were chatting while Ren cut into his ham. She watched as the boy put a piece into his mouth, wincing as he chewed, before swallowing. "So sweet..." He murmured.
"Anyways." Jaune started out, Blake more than willing to listen to the man who shared his swordfish with her. "We're split into partners for the next two classes, right? The opposite classes from yesterday afternoon."
"Right. We go to History with Oobleck, while you have Professor... Professor..."
"Yeah." Blake spared Pyrrha from having to pronounce the Communications teacher's name. "After that, it's our actual lunch break, and then Goodwitch for the rest of the day."
For a place that had been teaching huntsmen and huntresses for decades, Blake really thought Beacon needed to get its shit together: Messed up schedules that were hardly schedules in the first place; the cafeteria lady and what she fed them; letting someone like Professor Bitch teach...
At least they made sure they got plenty of fighting experience. That was certainly something she could appreciate. In fact, that was probably the class she looked forward to the most.
Blake couldn't wait for the afternoon.
Jaune wished the afternoon had never come.
He could fight decently well; he knew that from his training. If he could hold his own against his older sister on a bad day, he was sure he'd be fine in most situations.
But that didn't mean he wanted to be called down, to fight against someone in front of his peers, and lose. Despite everything, the blond had the feeling that if he was called down today, he'd lose. Just like the other day. Just like the hundreds of other times he'd done against Velvet. Every match that occurred in this class just made him even more nervous.
He just didn't feel like he could win. Letting out a shuddering breath, Jaune groaned a little, before he sucked air back in with a yawn. With how strangely tired he felt, he didn't even think he'd be a match for the weakest in his class – whoever that may be.
But, maybe today he'd be lucky. Maybe today, he wouldn't hear 'Jaune Arc' called.
Wincing at the thought, he strained his ears as Goodwitch spoke.
"Cardin Winchester and Yang Xiao Long to the floor, please."
Huh. That was odd. He could have sworn he was going to be called down. The blonde girl in the row before him stood with a quiet cheer. Checking the clock, he noted it would be the last match of the day. He let out a thankful sigh, then watched Yang as she made her way to the stairs. Would it have been awkward to wish her luck?
Jaune frowned to himself as she descended out of his vision. He looked to Blake, and then to Pyrrha and Ren.
They were his team. Of them, he met only Ren the night before initiation – though he thought he could recall seeing Pyrrha. The members of VLWR, on the other hand? He'd conversed with every one of them before they were put into teams.
He felt he knew them better than his own team, currently, as odd as that sounded.
And he didn't know what to do about that.
But you've seen more of Pyrrha than anyone else now- No! Bad thoughts!
Jaune shook his head, as if to rid his head physically of the distraction, trying to return to his previous train of thought: He was the leader of his team. He had to make the decisions.
But he still didn't know what he should do.
A vaguely heretical thought crossed his mind, and he turned to look at Nora, the leader of VLWR. Seeing how the team interacted with one another throughout the day made it seem like they all became so close in such a short period of time. It couldn't be that they were all girls; Jaune's sisters were solid proof of how that couldn't be a reason.
If that wasn't it... was it maybe Nora?
Before the match could start in earnest, Jaune stood out of his seat, crouched down as he walked over to where the orange haired girl sat, next to Ruby.
"Hey Nora..." Jaune offered, but the girl didn't turn immediately, chatting with Ruby about something or other. When there was a gap in the conversation the blond cleared his throat. "Nora?"
Her light blue eyes turned to him, and she smiled. It caught him off guard, considering their last interaction. "Yes?"
He cut right to the chase, the fight about to start. "Can we talk after class?"
The girl hummed, pursing her lips. "What about?"
"Stuff."
"And things?"
"Stuff and things." Jaune agreed. Ruby, next to Nora, looked back and forth between them.
"What?" The cloaked girl asked.
"Sure." Nora answered. "We'll meet just outside."
Nodding along, Jaune turned, managing to make it back to his seat just as Goodwitch called the start of the match. Ren looked to him in curiosity, but didn't say anything.
"What's up?" Blake asked instead.
"Just going to talk to Nora about something after the match." Jaune stated, turning his eyes to Yang as she rushed the leader of CRDL. "I think Yang will win this."
"Oh?" Blake offered. "Why do you think that?"
Jaune frowned as he realized he didn't exactly have a nice, immediate answer for her. "Because I'd rather her win than Cardin?"
Blake snorted at that. "Seriously though... Why?"
The blond had a feeling there was more to the girl's question, but he just shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. I don't know either of them too well, or how they fight yet. I just guessed Yang because I know her better than Cardin."
His partner hummed, but didn't say anything more. Jaune watched on, seeing a fist wiz past Cardin's face as the tall boy took a step back, pushing against Yang with the haft of his weapon to create distance. He didn't seem like an agile fighter at all. If anything, he fought how Jaune would, if he had to fight with a mace that size. One difference Jaune noted though, is that the boy was actually somewhat composed – more than Jaune felt he would have, had he been in the same situation. Facing off against Yang, that is.
The way she tried to get as close as she could to prevent any kind of counter attack... He'd have to do something about that, were he to fight her.
Something he realized would probably be an eventuality. He'd have to fight everyone in this room, at some point, whether it was training with his teammates, or a match like the one going on.
A nagging doubt wormed its way into his brain again. That he might be found out.
Surprising Jaune – as well as Ruby who jumped in her chair, squeaking – The head of Cardin's mace caught Yang right in her center of mass, sending her flying. From just the sound it made when it did so, Jaune figured the match might be over. Yang righted herself in mid air, wincing as she stayed on her feet, skidding across the floor. Judging by the board, that took a lot of Yang's Aura.
The sound of a shotgun shell firing resounded, and Yang charged forwards. Cardin was slow on the recovery from his own swing and was knocked flat by Yang's punch.
The match was over then, and Jaune learned something new, glancing towards the board:
There were girls that could punch harder than a muscly boy could swing a large mace.
Huh.
Goodwitch stepped out to the floor as the lighting returned to the area around it. "A well enough fought match. Obviously there's room for improvement. I will mention though; you both took unnecessary risks that left yourselves open. Mr. Winchester: Don't take such large swings that leave you open."
"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." The boy responded, dusting himself off as he stood.
"Miss Xiao Long." The blonde professor turned. "You left your feet when you were within striking distance of your opponent. If you were a more agile fighter, I'd wouldn't have anything to say, but it left you completely open in this case. Either avoid doing so, or do so in a way that doesn't leave you so open."
"Got it." The girl nodded.
Goodwitch looked around, as if to regard the class. "That's a good lesson for all of you. The exception being when time is of the essence, or any other situation that demands your immediate intervention, focus on ensuring your own safety above all else. Only take necessary risks. Dismissed."
A murmur went up the moment class was over, some of the students talking amongst each other. Jaune and his team stood, as did the members of VLWR before him. He met Nora's eyes and she nodded.
Once they were all outside, Jaune turned to his team, the three of them having been walking along with him. "You guys can go ahead back to the dorm... or do whatever you want to." He added on as an afterthought, realizing they didn't actually all have to do things together. "I've got to talk with Nora about something."
Blake just nodded before she headed off, looking over her shoulder at him for but a moment. Pyrrha followed her with a quick "Bye!", while Ren gave him the same questioning look.
"What do you have to talk to Nora about?" The boy asked plainly, but not the usual kind of plainly. There was something to it Jaune couldn't put his finger on.
The blond took a breath. Nora wasn't there yet – probably waiting for Yang to catch up – so he figured he could speak to Ren for a moment. Nora and him were friends, after all. "I wanted to talk to her about leader stuff."
"Leader stuff?" Ren wondered aloud, looking a little surprised.
Jaune nodded. "She's the leader of her team, and I'm the leader of ours. I figured, as leaders, I should talk to her about... leader stuff."
That sounded suspicious as hell. Good job Jaune.
It took a moment before Ren responded, and he did so with a hum and a nod. "I'll leave you to it, then." He began to walk away, offering a wave in departure. "Later."
"See ya."
Standing alone in the hallway, Jaune leaned up against the wall behind him, and watched as kept coming out of the viewing area's door. After about a minute passed, a group of four came out, but it wasn't the one he was waiting for. Cardin's face was screwed into a snarl, and the rest of his team looked somewhat... cautious?
When Cardin's eyes met his, the taller boy's expression twitched, before it twisted into something that Jaune assumed was supposed to resemble a smile. He began to walk towards Jaune, and the blond blinked in response, looking to Cardin's teammates, who just stood back, watching. As he got closer, the boy realized just how much taller Cardin was compared to him.
"You're Jaune Arc, yeah?"
Jaune looked up at Cardin's somewhat smiling face, and offered a weak smile in response. Clearly the guy was upset at his loss. "That's my name."
"If I can say it honestly, and I have to, that name doesn't really fit you." Cardin tilted his head, reaching forward to grip Jaune's shoulder. His meaty fingers squeezed tightly. "You sure you aren't a Pansy Arc instead?"
There was a loud sound of metal clanging against marble and Cardin released Jaune's shoulder, startled. The tall boy turned, and Jaune peeked out around him.
"What do you want?" Cardin asked aggressively, Jaune smiling as he saw Nora standing there, her hammer folded out into its full length. The rest of CRDL were further off to the side, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire – and who could blame them?
"I'm about ready to hit someone. And. You're. Too. Close."
Cardin stood there for a moment, and Jaune had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the tall boy's expense. Serves him right. It seemed like luck really was on his side today! The apparent bully clicked his tongue, and started to walk away. Jaune watched him as he and his team left. The tall boy looked over his shoulder, glaring, before his eyes widened in surprise-
Jaune doubled over as he was struck in the abdomen, coughing as the air was knocked from his lungs. He gasped for breath, looking down at Nora's fist.
"He's mine. Understand?" Jaune heard, looking up at Nora, before looking over to CRDL. Cardin nodded rapidly, before quickening his pace as he and his team made their escape swiftly.
Jaune coughed again as Nora pulled her fist back. "Wh-Why...?"
"Do you think I could manage an acting career if being a huntress doesn't work out?" Nora asked cheerily. "Ooh, I wonder if they'd let me do my own stunts!"
The blond stood up somewhat cautiously, a little confused. Nora tilted her head and smiled.
"Well?"
Blinking, Jaune rubbed his gut. "I don't think an actress would punch that hard when recording a scene..."
"Oh no, that was one-hundred percent real. For you looking up my skirt the other day."
The boy sighed as he blushed at the memory. "Of course..."
"Anyways, they shouldn't bother you for now." Nora clicked her tongue as she looked in the direction CRDL went. "I hate bullies."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Nora folded up her hammer – definitely an interesting looking weapon – and put it on her back. "You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah." Jaune looked around. "Your team isn't with you?"
"Nah, they all went off to do their own thing."
"I see. I wanted to talk to you about... well... leader stuff."
Nora nodded along, as if that's what she expected. Her eyes watched him carefully, and Jaune had to admit he shuffled a little under the pressure.
"It's not like I have problems with my team, or anything. Or that my team has problems. But it just seems like everyone on your team gets along so well, you know?" Jaune explained, gesturing widely with his hands as he did. "Like, you're all chatting with each other when you're together, and stuff."
"For me it's the opposite."
The girl's statement – and the serious tone she said it with – caught Jaune off guard. "What?"
The girl looked like she was... sad? "I wanted to talk to you too... About being a leader."