Chapter 4 - Ignorance

(Hi guys. Thank you for the good feedback. I know that the translation quality is bad. but I try to develop my grammatical language skills.)

The next morning, Velvet and Coco left the room without waking their partners.

"That's a terrible idea," Velvet complained wearily as she followed Coco down the corridors, "and where are we going anyway?"

"As it turned out, Jaune is extremely pedantic and goes away to practice twice a day away from everyone," she muttered, gazing at the scroll intently, "and if the data is correct, then this is the best opportunity for today." They went up to the freshmen floor and Сoсo stopped, leaning on the wall. Of course, it's good that the rendezvous point was far from prying eyes, but ...

"I'm afraid to ask," Velvet sighed, "where did you get this information from?"

"From those who would be more enthusiastic about meeting Jaune," Coco chuckled, "the kid really knows how to impress, so there is nothing surprising in the circle of admirers that has formed around him. Or, - Сoсo grinned maliciously, - it would be more correct to say admirers. And let's just say ... I guessed approximately who could enter it and did not lose.

"Should I be afraid of a crowd of screaming girls who will attack me for talking to their idol?" Velvet asked ironically, rolling her eyes.

Сoсo paused, looking away.

"I," she said as firmly as possible, "shouldn't be afraid of this ?! "

"Of course not, bunny," Сoсo snorted, "they are more of those who fall for everything interesting, discussing every little thing among themselves. You should be afraid of what they might come up with because of such a conversation. Although maybe they will not be so far from the truth? " Сoсo raised her eyebrows suggestively.

- Coco...

- Well, what about Coco? What? I've been Coco for eighteen years already, she replied, and for the second year already your leader. And you know, during this time I haven't seen any special progress in socialization from you outside of our team.

Velvet had nothing to cover such an argument. Given the situation with Cardin, one could even say that her sociality had gone into negative values.

"Exactly," Сoсo nodded to herself, without waiting for an answer, "and then fate itself gives you a sign. And of course, I'm not hinting at anything ... but first of all, I had in mind exactly the possibility of your joint training, and not what you thought about, - Coco grinned, - although of course only you decide how to manage your personal life.

"Sometimes you can be just unbearable," Velvet sighed.

- That's the idea. But we'll still have time to talk about me later, - Сoсo narrowed her eyes, - a moment's readiness. Relax and act as if everything is normal - this was not a trivial task, because what was happening for Velvet was far from the concept of "Usually", but taking a deep breath, she stood in front of Coco, pretending to have a conversation. After some time, one of the doors opened and the person they needed came out into the corridor.

"The bird is in the nest," Coco muttered without turning her head, forcing Velvet to roll her eyes.

Jaune meanwhile slowly walked away. Very leisurely.

"He walks like that all the time," Koko explained, as if reading her thoughts, "even during Goodwich, I had to wait for him for several minutes. You can not be afraid that he will decide to run away when you appear.

- Our arrival.

"As you say," Сoсo nodded, "now let's go," she muttered when Jaune reached the stairs.

"We act like real stalkers," Velvet muttered after ten minutes of following Jaune, accusingly poking Koko, who was walking next to her, with her elbow.

- It depends on which side to look at ... - she drawled.

- Not. No matter how you look at this situation, we act like stalkers. If I knew you worse, I would have abandoned this idea long ago. But you won't just fall behind," Velvet sighed.

"And here comes the acceptance stage," Сoсo nodded to herself. At the same moment, they finally left Beacon and silently moved after the receding figure of Jaune.

Most likely, he had already noticed them for a long time, but did not show it, clearly following the intended goal. Finally, having reached the right place, he began training. Velvet had to admit that at least this idea of Сoсo was worth it.

Dropping to his knees, he unhurriedly drew his blade from its scabbard, making a slow swing as he rose to his feet.

Mahi, lunges.

Slow and elusive.

They all intertwined into an indescribable picture, from which Velvet could not look away. Even without using the manifestation, knowing full well that any such attempt would result in loss of consciousness, or even worse, she felt that the initial impression was wrong. What she saw was not a hundredth part of the movements, no. A thousandth at best, and even less. Vision blurred and Velvet was surprised to realize that she had involuntarily held her breath. Judging by Сoсo's worried look, Jaune's training was the only one that had the same effect. The guy himself seemed to have already finished and, putting his sword back into its sheath, turned around and walked back to Beacon without even deigning to look at them.

"What an amazing meeting," Сoсo said with a smile, standing in his way, "can you imagine, we decided to take a walk in the evening, and here you are," Jaune did not even turn his head.

"Okay, I understand that you are not a fan of small talk," Сoсo chuckled, "then let's get right to the point. It just so happens that my friend," she nodded in the direction of Velvet, "has one very interesting and sometimes frankly pissing manifestation. She knows how to copy other people's fighting styles - if up to this point it was not clear whether Jaune even hears what they say to him, now Koko finally captured his attention: the guy stopped in place, looking directly into her eyes. Her leader shuddered a little at the change, but quickly regained her composure and continued:

"But it just so happened that, trying to copy your movements, she had a "misfire," Сoсo additionally highlighted this word by making quotes in the air, "which ended in a loss of consciousness. As you understand, this usually did not happen, and since Manifestations do not come with instructions, we decided to ask you, as the only one who can shed at least some light on what is happening. So, - Сoсo finished her speech with a smile.

— What did you feel during your attempts? - Jaune asked turning to Velvet. She could not bear his gaze for long, and lowering her eyes, she murmured uncertainly:

— That the picture is incomplete. It's as if one of your movements is broken into a thousand small ones, and I can't catch them," Velvet tried to describe her feelings as accurately as possible.

"You see the blow, but not that it directs the hand," Jaune said calmly, "trying to copy, not understanding the essence, you are still trying to subdue what does not belong to you.

"Um… okay," Сoсo broke into the conversation, "and what should she do in this case?"

"Such is the fate of all those who reject Motivation. Only one step separates you from the truth, but you are too insignificant to take it," he did not change his tone, which only made Velvet lower her head even more, "surrendering to your weakness, you forfeited the right to resist hatred. Living in the thrall of excuses, give in to disgust and decide what will happen next." Having finished speaking, he turned and slowly walked towards Beacon.

Velvet's legs buckled and she fell to her knees, breathing hard. Jumping up, Coco sank down beside her without a word and hugged her.

Here we talked...

As she sat in combat training, Blake thought wearily of the ever-expanding circle of empty seats around Jaune and the horrified glances cast in her direction as she calmly sat down next to him. By this point, the status of Jaune's partner made her almost untouchable, either because of fears of Jaune's possible reaction, which in reality was most likely exactly the same as always - none, or because of some unknown source of confidence that that since she was his partner, she "was worthy of this title," whatever that meant.

And, Blake rubbed her temples wearily, this again partially resembled the situation in the White Fang ... True, on a much larger scale: at least in WF, only a small part considered her a prefix to Adam, while the rest respected precisely her strength.

Thinking about it, Blake even tried to imagine what would happen if the three of them were bullied. Not two or three idiots trying to make themselves look bigger than they really are, but a full-fledged one, perhaps even with the involvement of senior students.

Hypothetically, even in such a situation, they would have coped ... but if not ... would Jaune come to the rescue or continue to watch indifferently from the side?

All she could say about this is that Jaune raises too many questions.

And judging by Miss Goodwitch's glance in his direction, their list had just been updated with the question: "How exactly Jaune will destroy his opponent this time."

And what, this time they will put a third-year student against him?

And so on increasing, forcing students to reflect on what exactly was the advantage of studying at the Academy?

"Dear students," Goodwitch began to look at the audience, "usually fights of this type are held a little later," by this moment Blake had already approximately learned to understand the crowd and therefore was absolutely not surprised by the heads turned towards Jaune, "but due to some events, I think a lesson like this needs to be done right now. The individual strength of each of you is a key factor in the full-fledged work of hunters, because even without taking into account that a part chooses this path consciously, sometimes there are situations when it is not possible to assemble a team. However," she adjusted her glasses, "this does not mean that teamwork should be neglected.

Someone else would have brought this news to their leader. Because now the best thing he could show in terms of a team work is its definition in an explanatory dictionary.

- In critical situations, it is always better to have someone who can watch your back. The ability to work well in a team will come in handy more than once throughout your life, and therefore you should devote no less time to practicing it than to personal training. For clarity, I invite members of the CRDL team to participate in today's fight - a trio, since Cardin was still recovering from the last fight, the guys got up from their seats, but were in no hurry to move to change clothes, frozen in anticipation of the announcement of the enemy, - using their example, you can see how the battle changes under the condition of a numerical advantage. Mr. Arc, - Blake saw how the whole trio of RDLs turned white, hoping to the last that they would carry over, - I ask you to go to the platform for clarity of comparison.

Jaune, without betraying himself, calmly stood up and immediately went to the locker rooms at his unhurried pace. And the sounds of his steps for opponents were like a death knell. A very long death knell.

Seriously, why not just tell Jaune to come to class ready? Although, knowing Jaune, such an order would either have been ignored immediately, or held out exactly until the lesson, in which he would not have been called to a duel.

A couple of minutes later, all four of them were already standing on the platform: Jaune with his standard neutral-haughty expression on his face, and the three of his opponents, on whose faces was written regret that they had not had time to make a will. Given that they supported their leader to the fullest during the bullying of that girl, Blake began to believe in karma. True, this also meant admitting that the decisions made by her in life were so terrible that she already got Jaune as a partner.

- The battle will last until the aura of all participants of one of the parties drops into the red zone, or until all participants of one of the parties leave the ring. We started.

No one, including Miss Goodwitch, believed in Jaune's defeat. At this stage, she rather wanted to see what else he could do.

Clutching their weapons hesitantly, the RDL trio began slowly circling around Jaune, who didn't react at all, not even following them with his eyes, which only made them more nervous. After a minute of such "circling", they began to exchange glances with each other, nodding towards Jaune, but still not daring to attack.

Thus another minute passed.

And finally something amazing happened: Jaune moved from his place. Well, more precisely, he just turned his leg a little, but that was enough for his opponents: all three jerked sharply and shouted in unison:

- We surrender!

Jaune finished the movement by turning his whole body and headed towards the locker rooms.

"The winner is Jaune Arc," Goodwitch said with complete indifference, "and now you have all been shown another important skill for a hunter—the ability to assess your strength. Quite a few of our students have neglected him, attacking opponents beyond their level, dying in the process. Protecting others, you should not forget that if you die, you will definitely not be able to protect anyone. If the situation allows, it will always be better to retreat and regroup.

These were incredibly important instructions, and Adam greeted newcomers with approximately the same words ... if only her partner was not brought up in an example of mortal danger.

Although the teacher could be understood: Jaune looked like an ordinary freshman only outwardly, and, accordingly, Miss Goodwitch could not control him as an ordinary freshman. And since the mess could not be prevented, in accordance with the established saying, it had to be led. Using Jaune as an example…and, if Blake got the point right, as a punishment for the particularly unintelligent.

Just wonderful…

As usual, the JWBN team returned to the room. And before Jaune sat down in his plastic chair, Pyrrha asked Jaune.

- Jaune, can I wash your clothes? I haven't seen you wash your things and clothes after the team is formed, I can help with that. she asked kindly, noticing strange looks from Weiss and Blake.

And after that, Jaune abruptly froze in the same place next to the chair. Everyone was anxiously waiting to see what Jaune would say to that, as they saw for the first time how his usual question had taken him by surprise.

10 seconds passed, which seemed like an eternity to everyone.

- Just reminded me. - Jaune turned to Pyrrha, and with a blank look began to glow with dark blue energy.

The girls instinctively closed their eyes.

Flash

And when they opened their eyes, they saw a naked Jaune with a sword on his hand, in the same place.

Pyrrha covered both eyes with her hands. But not completely, because for the first time he sees a naked man in such close proximity.

Weiss simply closed his eyes. I did not want to comment on such shamelessness.

Blake watched, but thought. Where did his clothes go?

But, nevertheless, they noticed the obvious thing.

"Incredible perfect musculature"

But Jaune again began to glow with the same light, but not so intensely and without a flash. Light began to materialize, taking the form of clothing.

First, dark blue trousers with the texture of snake scales, then a dark blue vest of an interesting shape, which looks more like a designer leather body armor. And at the end, a modified dark blue cloak with gray embroidery patterns, dark gray fingerless gloves and knee-high boots of the same color.

The girls looked on in amazement at this performance. Since it is very-very stylish than the previous version.

Jaune, meanwhile, without saying anything, sat down on his favorite chair.

- This is unfair. - Weiss, as usual, reacted very emotionally to Jaune's next trick.

- This is no longer a simple Semblance, but the Thing. - Blake said about something strongly thinking.

Pyrrha listened intently to Miss Goodwich's explanation of their current assignment, mentally rejoicing at the opportunity. Hiking in the forest of Eternal Autumn, which was rumored to be much later in the curriculum, was quite like a picnic with friends. And it was just wonderful!

Finally find people with whom you can share all the joys of student life. Those who treat her as a person, not a brand. People with whom she was "in the same boat", having gone through fire, ice and Jaune Arc. And the fact that the rest of the stream, immediately after the end of the explanation, tried to be as far away from them as possible in some sense, was also a pleasant addition to the campaign - no eyes judging her every movement. In addition, this also greatly simplified the search for a free area of the forest.

Ruby's team, surprisingly, followed them, apparently still not giving up on the opportunity to make friends. True, they followed at a fairly decent distance: still remaining in the field of view, but now they would have to communicate by shouting.

What is their right. Exactly, as well as their right was to sit out from them in the dining room: both because of the unwillingness to be in the spotlight, and simply the rejection of Jaune.

"Funny attempts," Weiss nodded in their direction, already starting to extract the juice from the tree, "I think this is their leader's idea, and in this way they listen to her and cut off unwanted attention.

"I can't blame them," Pyrrha sighed.

"Well, it could have been worse," Weiss shrugged, "at least they aren't trying to impose attempts to change Jaune on us.

"Because it's useless," Blake interjected, standing by her tree.

"We know that," Weiss nodded, "but to them, he's just a very strong brute. And their leader is only fifteen. I'm willing to bet that she attributed Jaune's behavior to some childhood trauma and is now looking for ways to "help" him to become "kind" again.

Blake shuddered at those words.

"Well, it's in their own interest not to do anything further," she sighed, looking longingly at the barely filled jug of juice. It turned out to be more difficult than she thought.

With a furtive glance to the side, Pyrrha was surprised to find that Wren had somehow already begun to fill the second jar. How long did he have before practice, since he had so deftly coped with the task? Or was he one of those people who were called "the tree-talker"? Pyrrha shifted her gaze to the other side, giggling slightly at the thoughts that came to her mind. If Ren was "talking to the trees", then Jaune was "silent to the trees": he stopped at the tree and carefully looked at it. If one of the students were in the place of the tree, he would have already lost consciousness, but such a giant covered with bark could not be penetrated.

Concentrating on extracting juice, Pyrrha almost missed Weiss's slight cough.

She also filled her pitcher and now, having captured their attention, lightly nodded in the direction of their leader, who did not give up his idea to starve the tree out.

Blake carefully took the jug in her left hand, making a fist with her right hand and pointing forward. Without saying a word, she and Weiss repeated her gesture.

"Scissors"

"Scissors"

"Paper"

Pyrrha sighed wearily, looking down at her palm. And she was still thinking… Weiss and Blake nodded sympathetically, obviously feeling relieved inwardly.

Well, you can't run away from fate...

Pyrrha carefully placed the jug on the ground and walked towards Jaune, thinking over the tactics of the conversation as she went.

"Um, Jaune," she began cautiously. In turn, he didn't even turn around, "according to the assignment, we must bring four jugs ... and if you don't succeed," Pyrrha made a short pause, "I could help you ...

She was interrupted by a crackling and a low hiss behind her. Turning around, she saw Blake frozen in surprise, juice running down her hair. There was a rustle in the bushes near them.

— Cardin. That bastard," Weiss growled, handing Blake a handkerchief.

Pyrrha did not see who exactly threw the pitcher, but was inclined to agree with Weiss's suggestion.

But she did not have time to reach: a discordant buzzing was heard in the air.

"Damn…" Blake barely managed to mutter as a swarm of insects swooped down on her. She didn't just stand still, dashing sideways, but that didn't help much against the flying cloud. Weiss took out a rapier, but froze in indecision, pointing it at the fleeing Blake... running towards Jaune, by the way... he, in turn, nevertheless turned to them, but looked at the suffering of his partner indifferently. And only when the distance between them was reduced to five steps, he touched the hilt of the sword, instantly taking it out and returning it back to the scabbard.

A sphere of flapping bloomed around Blake, and she stopped in surprise, staring at the carpet of dead insects spread around her.

"Thanks…probably," Blake snapped, "although I could have done it before…" she added more quietly. Judging by the bunch of little dots, Blake was going through not the best day of her life, not to mention the fact that the juice from her head had not gone anywhere and now continued to drain onto her clothes.

"Pyrrha, there must be a river nearby, as far as I remember. Can you help Blake get there, clean up the wounds and get rid of the juice? Weiss asked, coming abreast of them and finally holding out a handkerchief to the injured teammate.

"Of course," Pyrrha nodded, gently taking Blake's hand. There did not seem to be an allergic reaction to the bites, but even without it, the pain should be considerable, - and you ...

"We," Weiss obviously wanted to say "I," but changed her mind, "we will deal with this jerk. Let's just solve the juice problem. Since they scatter them like that, they definitely don't need it.

"I rely on you," said Pyrrha.

"Don't kill them there," Blake whispered, wincing at the bites.

"I can't promise," Weiss chuckled, eliciting a slight smile from them.

...

The task given was meaningless. An ignorant attempt to discipline them.

Definitely a failure.

To submit to their plans was tantamount to going against style, and therefore Jaune did not even consider such an option. After all, someone else's hatred is predictable and it would be stupid not to use it.

Moths flying into the fire are doomed to burn out from its heat. But nothing prevents the spider from putting its webs in their path.

Unable to bear the weight of responsibility for their actions, they will turn to despair and fall into darkness. And in the current case…literally.

It didn't matter that it caused his partner to get injured.

One of the rules of style: only the result is important.

...

Pyrrha took one last look at the clearing where they were, noting to herself that Ruby's team twitched to help them, but hesitated halfway through. Then she gently pulled Blake in the direction where the river should have been, carefully looking around so as not to miss the approach of the Grimms.

They reached the place after a couple of minutes without meeting anyone, and Blake, kneeling near the water, scooped it up with her palms, rinsing her face.

- A little different than I imagined this moment, - Blake muttered, slightly turning her head towards Pyrrha, - but apparently fate directly hints at this. True, she could do it softer, - at the same time, she reached out and removed her bow, showing off a pair of extra ears.

"So you're a faun," Pyrrha said, "I mean, I have nothing against them and—"

"I believe," Blake replied, putting her head under the stream, rubbing the juice, "believe me, I have seen enough of the racists, and you are not one bit like them. And I think you understand why I hid it ...

- Cardin...

And not only him. But as you can see, it didn't help," Blake sighed, "the reason is different, the result is the same. Although I understand that this is just a coincidence, but ... ehh.

"I will keep your secret," Pyrrha said, anticipating the request, "will you say something to Weiss ... and Jaune?"

"Definitely not now. Weiss is still Schnee, even if she's better than the way she's portrayed. And Jaune... well, let's be honest, he probably just doesn't care. But still there is a chance that he will become even more unbearable, although much more so. Whatever the case, it's best not to risk it yet.

"I understand," Pyrrha nodded and immediately changed the subject, "is it better?"

"Still hurting," Blake snorted. "Seriously, that's what a bastard Jaune is." "Helped" only because he didn't want the insects to fly into him too.

- Well, at least he helped, and not just stepped aside.

"Given his preferred pace, he wouldn't have been able to retreat for long," Blake grinned, "but now we do know that he can be made to work for the benefit of others.

"Maybe Weiss can even get him to help," Pyrrha shrugged.

- That's right: "There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped," Blake grumbled, before continuing to wipe the juice from her clothes.

...

Weiss was forced to learn the art of negotiation almost from childhood. But none of the thick books that she had to cram contained a special section devoted exclusively to negotiations with Jaune Arc. For the sake of Remnant's integrity, at the end of her studies at Beacon, Weiss undertook to independently write something similar in the format of a full book.

But these were the things of the future, and it was necessary to establish relations now. Of course, it would be possible to go on your own, kick Cardin and his team, along the way taking their juice. But... the hell with it, she would let this semblance of a leader do nothing in a similar situation. No matter what Jaune thought to himself, he was still part of their team and should also be responsible for it. And since he definitely won't change his behavior, then at least let him work as a scarecrow for such idiots as Cardin.

All that was left to do was bring it to him...

"Jaune," she began as confidently as she could. Surprisingly, he even turned in her direction, "would you…" she didn't have time to finish, forced to step aside from Jaune who stepped forward. Without stopping, he headed towards where the jug came from, only briefly throwing it, without even turning around.

"They challenged me, not you. "

Well, at least something. And most importantly, such a reaction quite fit into his line of behavior. She even fit in too well… as if he'd been expecting something like this.

And given that he was in no hurry to collect the juice ...

Here's the bastard.

...

"Listen," Dove muttered nervously, "are we sure we didn't go too far?"

"Why are you a coward," Cardin burst out laughing in response, "such as they prefer to run to complain to teachers. And they still have to prove that it was us. This freak humiliated our team, and we humiliated him. The risk was worth it.

"It's not so much the teacher that worries me, but just his reaction," Dove did not calm down.

- Wipe your snot. Haven't you seen that this bastard doesn't care about them either. I'm willing to bet that when he was asked for help, he just walked away with that slow step of his.

The tree behind him toppled to the side, cut down by a single attack. Russel whined.

Cardin, on stiff legs, turned back, only to meet the eyes of the completely indifferent Jaune Arc. Out of fear, he took a few steps back, tripping and falling on his back. Leisurely Jaune took a few steps forward and, looking down, said arrogantly:

"You are full of hate, but it is fed by fear. Failure to deal with it will lead you to death.

There was a howl from beside him. Turning his head, Cardin watched the Grimms approaching them, paralyzed with terror. Beowulf rushed in their direction, immediately flying into a frozen Russell. Ursa, who followed, sent Dove and Sky into a tree with one blow.

Jaune calmly turned and walked away, slowing only to pick up a pitcher of juice from the ground.

The pain from the Grimm biting into him brought Cardin to his senses, and he screamed at the top of his lungs:

— Help!

Jaune didn't even turn around.

...

A terrified cry for help caught Ruby's team on their way to where it came from. This whole juice situation was initially unpleasant, but when they saw that Jaune had personally gone to deal with the issues, no one was left in doubt about the need to intervene.

Arriving at the place, Ruby saw a horrifying sight of how the Grimms almost tore the students to pieces. And Jaune, heading in their direction, who indifferently ignored the cries from behind.

"Why isn't Grimm touching him? "

"They don't seem to notice Jaune."

"Damn," Yang, without wasting a second, rushed to the rescue, flying into the side of the ursa. Wren and Nora followed a moment later. But here Ruby herself froze in place, looking in disbelief at the approaching figure of Jaune.

- Why? - was all she managed to say as he walked past her.

They were weaker than they thought. A natural outcome for such nonentities," he said without even turning his head.

What struck Ruby the most was not the phrase itself, but its tone.

With absolute indifference, he doomed the whole team to death.