And here' the next chapter!
And thank you for the review Scott! I don't know what that word means but if you are asking if it will end soon, then the answer is no. Hope you like this chapter.
Chapter 7: Jaunedice
Jaune's arms felt like lead as he struggled to keep his sword and shield up. Cardin stood across from him, his mace casually slung over a shoulder. Sweat stung Jaune's eyes and his damp hair clung to his forehead. Cardin smiled and beckoned Jaune over. Jaune grit his teeth and charged at him, letting out a battle cry as he charged. Cardin unslung his Mace and caught Jaune's blow, effortlessly holding him at bay.
"Nice try Jauney boy. But you're about to lose," he said. Cardin kicked him in the shin and Jaune felt his body crumple under the blow. He looked up, his shield meekly held over his torso as Cardin towered over him. Cardin slung his mace over his shoulder as a loud buzzer sounded. Cardin offered his hand and Jaune took it. He was brought to his feet as Professor Goodwitch marched over, her heels clicking, and a scowl on her face.
"Mr. Arc, what have I been telling you to pay attention to since our first class?" Jaune scratched the back of his head.
"My aura?"
"And would you mind sharing with the class what your scroll says?" Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked it; his team's aura levels were displayed and his had dipped into the red, at about twenty percent. Jaune looked up at Goodwitch, who had her arms crossed and was staring at him. He looked around the classroom, where the other students were staring. His teammates were watching him, Pyrrha looking especially concerned. The professor cleared her throat. "Well?"
"It's…it's in the red," he mumbled. Goodwitch nodded her head and pulled out her scroll.
"Take your seat Mr. Arc. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Winchester." Jaune walked off the battle stage and stumbled into his seat, sinking into the bleacher chair; he could feel the class's eyes on him as he tried to disappear below the desk. Cardin nodded and smiled at the professor before taking his seat.
"During combat it is essential to keep track of your aura levels. Without it, you are as good as dead, whether you are up against a human opponent or a creature of Grimm. In a tournament round, you would also be disqualified for allowing your aura to dip so low. Those of you who have an interest in participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament during the fall semester will want to take note of that." A loud buzzing sounded and the students started to file out. Jaune stood up and grabbed his bag, making a bee line for the door.
"Mr. Arc. A word," the professor said. Jaune sighed, told his teammates that he would meet them at lunch, and went over to the professor. She sighed and took off her glasses, cleaning them on her blouse before putting them back on. "What appears to be the issue Jaune? Are you unwilling or unable to heed my advice? Or is there an issue that Professor Duerf should be helping you with?" Jaune shuffled his feet as he tried to think of an excuse.
"When I'm out fighting like that I don't really think about checking my scroll to make sure I can take the next hit," he finally said. Goodwitch said nothing but nodded her head.
"Understanding the limits of your own aura is not just checking your scroll. It helps, and is great for keeping track of your comrades, but you have to be able to feel your aura; what it can and can't withstand and when it has reached its limit." She smiled at him. "We're your instructors and we want to make sure you all succeed, and don't get yourselves needlessly killed when you finally enter the battlefield. I would recommend taking Aura Conditioning if you aren't already; Professor Azura is one of the best professor's we have and I have never met a woman with a stronger aura than her." Jaune nodded his head, he had Aura Conditioning and it wasn't doing him much good.
"Thanks for the advice Professor, I'll do better next time," he said. Goodwitch nodded her head and motioned for him to leave.
Jaune walked through the door to find Cardin waiting for him. He had his leg propped up against a wall and had his arms crossed. He grinned as Jaune came walking out.
"Jauney boy! I know old hag Goodwitch may not think so but you did better in that last match, you managed to land some hits on me this time." Jaune started to walk down the hall, Cardin walking next to him.
"Thanks Cardin, glad somebody thinks I'm not a total waste of space," he said. Cardin frowned.
"Ah come on man, don't talk like that. Listen, how about I help you out, like a personal trainer? I can whip you into fighting shape in no time." Jaune chewed on his lip before answering.
"I really appreciate the offer but I'm really hungry right now so can I give you an answer after lunch?" Cardin nodded his head in approval.
"Of course, buddy."
Blake absent mindedly listened to Nora as she recounted a recurring dream she had of hunting Beowolves and selling their pelts with Ren. She continued to read as the rest of her team, Team JNPR, and Team SVDJ all listened intently. Her ears twitched underneath her bow as Nora slammed her hands against the table to emphasize a statement. Her friends broke into laughter at a crude comment Jet made in regards to Nora's story. Blake sighed, dog eared the page, and closed the book.
She took a bite of her tuna salad and looked down the table to see Weiss filing her nails, Violet sitting next to her.
"Weiss?" Blake heard her ask. Blake watched as Weiss looked at Violet, her ice like eyes darting to her dog ears. Blake narrowed her eyes. "Can…can I get your autograph?" Violet squeaked out. Weiss' eyes darted to her ears again as her mouth opened and closed several times.
"I'm sorry, I don't give out autographs," Weiss said finally. Violet looked back down at her plate and started picking at her food with her fork. Blake had a bad taste in her mouth as Weiss started to eat the salad she had before her.
Disgusted, and losing her appetite, she looked at the other end of the table. She saw Jaune picking at his chicken nuggets as Pyrrha sat beside him with a concerned expression.
"I don't know Pyrrha, I've been trying my best and I'm still not seeing any improvement."
"You will get better Jaune; you're not going to suddenly become the best fighter in the school, it takes time." Jaune picked up a chicken nugget, nibbling on it before responding.
"I guess." He took a bite of the nugget. "You think I should get help from Cardin? He offered to train me." Pyrrha chewed on her lip
"I don't know about that Jaune, he may be nice to you but he's a-"
A scream and a loud crash echoed throughout the room, silencing all the noisy conversations going on. Blake jerked her head in the direction of the noise; one of the older students, Velvet Scarlatina, a rabbit Faunus, had tripped and fallen next to Team CRDL's table. They were laughing as Velvet tried to wipe mashed potatoes off her uniform. Cardin grabbed her by her rabbit ear and jerked her up, causing her to yelp with pain; eliciting more howls of laughter from the group of men.
"Look at this freak, who would have thought they would let an animal get past her first year." Cardin laughed as he pulled on her ear, jerking her head into the table. Velvet whimpered and tried to pry his hand off.
"Please, it hurts," she pleaded.
"Good, teach you stupid animals to not come near me or my boys table." Blake gnashed her teeth and stood up.
"Leave her alone, Cardin!" she yelled. Cardin and his team looked over at her, he never let go of her ear.
"And why should I?" he sneered.
"Or you'll answer to me," she said, grasping the handle of Gambol Shroud. Cardin's teammates went 'oooo' as Cardin laughed, yanking on Velvet's ear again and causing her to cry out in pain. Blake saw a blur of movement in the corner of her eye but kept her attention on the group of men across from her.
"What, are you her girlfriend?" Cardin's head was slammed into the table and the arm holding onto Velvet's ear was jerked behind his back. He cried out in surprise and pain.
"No, that would be me," Coco Adel said. She was the fashionista team leader of Team CFVY, known for her glamor, sass, and lethal combat skills. Velvet scrambled to her feet and stood behind Coco as she pressed Cardin's face further into the wood table and slowly pulled his arm out of its socket.
"Now you're going to listen to me, and you're going to listen well, understand?" she said.
"Go to hell you disgusting animal fuck-ah!" Cardin screamed out in pain as Coco yanked back on his arm. Cardin's teammates stood back, looking at one another and unsure of what to do.
"What was that?" Cardin whimpered as his arm was pulled. Coco smiled, still pulling on his arm, as she said. "You and your sorry group of fuck heads are never going to touch Velvet ever again. And if I find out you did this to her again, or any of the other Faunus we have here, I will kill you. We clear?"
"We're clear," Cardin whimpered. Coco yanked on his arm.
"Clear what?"
"Gah! Crystal clear!" Cardin yelped. Coco stayed in place for a moment before pushing down on his head and giving his arm one final tug, eliciting a scream, before letting go and walking over to Velvet. She wrapped her arm around Velvet's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Velvet smiled bashfully and a blush creeped into her cheeks.
"You okay, babe?" Coco asked, taking off her sunglasses to inspect Velvet's ears.
"I should be fine. Thank you." She smiled and gently kissed Coco on the lips. Coco smiled, and flipped the lone strand of bronze and copper hair out of her face before pointing at Blake.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Blake. Blake Belladonna." She said. Coco smiled as she put her sunglasses back on.
"Remind me to buy you and your team drinks some time." With that Coco and Velvet took their leave; Coco's arms wrapped around Velvet's shoulders and Velvet's around Coco's waist.
Blake sat down as Cardin's teammates swarmed his side, whispering idle threats and slurs towards Coco and Velvet as they left. Cardin clenched his teeth as he massaged his arm; Coco hadn't dealt any permanent physical damage but Cardin's ego was surely hurting right now. Blake grinned as Cardin winced as his teammates unsuccessfully tried to help ease the pain in his arm. Her appetite returning she started to tear into her tuna salad as she listened to the new conversations that were springing up around her.
Jaune drummed his pencil against his notebook as the Remnant History professor prattled on. The professor was a scraggly man with a wild mane of emerald hair that no brush could tame. He had thick glasses that had a habit of sliding down his nose. His clothes were a mess and mix matched and he sprinted from one end of the classroom to the other as he tapped on a map of Remnant with a yard stick. A multitude of coffee cups and empty cans of energy drinks littered his cluttered desk.
Jaune hated history class, remembering all those name and dates was a huge pain for him, and he had no idea why they needed to learn about the Faunus Right's Revolution if they were going to be fighting monsters for the rest of their lives. Jaune balanced his pencil on his desk as the professor went on about how the humans rounded up the Faunus and forced them all to live in Menagerie, wherever that was.
"Now I know many of you think this is all ancient history but the effects of the Revolution can still be felt to this day. May I ask, how many of you have faced discrimination because of your Faunus heritage?" the professor asked, standing still for a moment. Jaune saw Violet, Drey, Velvet, and a couple of students he didn't know hold up their hands. The professor shook his head.
"Disgusting. Deplorable. Absolutely dreadful." He started to pace again "Now class I want you all to realize that this kind of intolerance and hatred is what leads to needless violence." He shook his head as he paced, swinging his yard stick willy-nilly. "Just look at the White Fang; from peaceful protestors to dangerous terrorists, all due to needless bigotry." He slammed the stick on one of the bleachers.
"Now then, who can tell me what is believed by many scholars to be the turning point in the third year of the Revolution?" Jaune saw Weiss' hand shoot up. "Ms. Schnee!" The professor pointed at her with the yard stick.
"The Battle of Fort Castle," she said. The professor smiled.
"Precisely! Excellent, Ms. Schnee!" Jaune threw back his head, bored out of his mind. He yelped when he heard a sharp crack right in front of him. The professor was standing in front of him, the yard stick slapped down on his notebook.
"Mr. Arc, would you be so kind as to tell the class what advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune and his army?"
"Uhhhh…." Jaune had absolutely no idea. He was always taught that General Lagune lost, not what factors led to his defeat. His eyes darted around the room, hoping that it was evident that he needed help. He saw Pyrrha point at her eyes before making a cupping motion over her eyes.
"Binoculars?" he said. The professor glared at him as Pyrrha face palmed and the students around him started to snicker.
"Hilarious, Mr. Arc. But this is not a comedy class. I would appreciate it if you would take this serious." He zipped away from his desk to the center of the room.
"Mr. Winchester, do you know the answer?" Cardin sat up, looked down at Velvet, and said
"Animals are easier to train than humans. Probably were better trained for a night assault." The professor shook his head as Pyrrha spun around in her seat.
"I take it you didn't learn you lesson at lunch today?" she said, a flicker of a smile on her lips. Cardin stood up, anger flaring in his eyes.
"You got a problem with me?" He balled his hands into fists.
"Mr. Winchester, take your seat," the professor said, his tone icy and leaving no room for discussion. Cardin stood for a moment before taking his seat and grumbling to himself. The professor turned his attention to Pyrrha. "Do you have the answer, Ms. Nikos?"
"I do. The answer is night vision. The Faunus are well known for their heightened senses." Blake, who was sitting next to Pyrrha, smiled and added to her answer.
"General Lagune underestimated his opponent and tried to ambush them in their sleep. His troops were outmatched and he was soundly defeated and taken captive."
"Correct! Thank you Ms. Nikos and Ms. Belladonna!" The bell rang and the students started to make their way out of the room. "Mr. Arc, and Mr. Winchester, my desk, now." Jaune groaned and trudged up to the professor's desk while his team left. Cardin came up next to him, his back stiff and his jaw set. The professor sat on the edge of his desk, tapping his foot as he spoke.
"The two of you have been struggling with my class since day one. I don't know if it's due to your stubborn nature or if you just don't give a damn, but whatever the reason, it ends today." He stopped tapping his foot and stood up, his lanky body towering over the both of them. "We only accept the best of the best here and after the hell you went through to get to my classroom, I would appreciate it if you gentleman treated this class with the respect it deserves. Now! I want you both to read ahead, pages fifty one to ninety one to be precise, and write a ten page essay summarizing the Faunus War. Good day gentleman." The professor motioned for the two of them to leave.
Pyrrha stood next to the door, waiting for Jaune to leave Professor Oobleck's class. Using her semblance she spun a small metal ball in a circle above her hand; it was a relaxing way to pass the time when she was bored. She pocketed the ball as a girl a bit older than her came up to her. She had dark skin, and bright red hair cut in a pixie cut. She smiled at Pyrrha, holding something behind her back.
"You're Pyrrha Nikos right?" she asked. Pyrrha smiled and nodded her head; she knew what this was about. She pulled out a small book and a golden pen. "Can I get your autograph?"
"Of course," she said, forcing the smile to stay on her face. She signed her signature and saw the girl's eyes light up as she handed it to her. "There you go." The girl clutched the book to her chest and left, shouting out a thanks. Pyrrha let the smile drop after the girl left her line of sight and she let out a sigh.
She heard the door open and saw Jaune and Cardin come walking out. They both looked angry.
"Well isn't this some shit, Jaune? Ten pages, is that lunatic serious?" Jaune nodded his head.
"Yeah that is pretty bad. No idea how I'm gonna get it done." Cardin stopped, his back to Pyrrha.
"Well how about we have a homework session in the library? My teammates could help us out. And I know we wouldn't get any help from those animal lovers in the rest of the class." Jaune scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know Cardin, I don't really know them and I don't know if I could be much help. I'm not good at history."
"Alright, fair enough. Oh! Have you given my personal training offer any thought?" Jaune rubbed his arm.
"I have. I appreciate the offer but I want to get better on my own." Cardin crossed his arms.
"You being straight with me Jaune?"
"I am Cardin, I really appreciate the offers for help but I want to get better on my own." Cardin sighed and started to walk away.
"Well if you ever change your mind just let me know; we guys gotta look out for one another, right?" Jaune nodded his head. Cardin walked off and Jaune sighed. Pyrrha walked up, Jaune finally noticing her. She scowled as she grabbed his hand.
"We need to talk," she said as she started to walk off, dragging Jaune along with her.
Pyrrha threw open the door to the school roof and marched onto the rooftop. It was night and there was a slight chill in the air. Fireflies danced through the air and the moon was hidden behind the tower in the center of the campus. She came to a stop in the middle of the roof, and let go of Jaune's hand. She stood before him, her arms resting at her sides. Jaune crossed his arms.
"What's this about Pyrrha?" he asked.
"I've noticed that you have been having a tough time in class and that you aren't exactly the best of fighters either." Jaune huffed.
"So, what, you're offering to help me get better, is that it?"
"Yes, that's exactly it."
"And why should I get help from you? Cardin already offered." Pyrrha scowled.
"Because Cardin is, is," she took a deep breath. "A bigot and a jerk, and I don't think you should hang around him, Jaune."
"What are you? My mother?"
"No, Jaune. I'm your partner and your teammate. And I would assume your friend as well." She took a step near him. He was looking down and his messy, straw colored hair concealed most of his face. She grasped his hands and held them. "Let me help you Jaune. You were good enough to get in, let me help you thrive here." Jaune jerked his hands back and grabbed his arms.
"But I wasn't good enough," he said. Pyrrha scrunched her eyebrows.
"What do you mean? You survived the initiation test; you got accepted didn't you?" Jaune shook his head.
"I lied."
"What do you mean?" she asked. He wheeled on her, tears were running down his face.
"What I mean Pyrrha is that I fucking lied! I cheated! I'm not meant to be here, my transcripts were fake!" he screamed. Pyrrha stood there in silence, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to process what he just said.
"Why?" she finally managed. Jaune laughed, the sound anything but humorous.
"Because I wanted to be like my grandfather and my sister. They're both amazing heroes, and what am I? Just some stupid kid stuck in the ass end of Vale prattling his life away! Why can't I be like them? Why can't I?" He took a shaky breath. "Because I was never good enough; not for the instructors, and not for my father. Do you have any idea what it feels like to never be good enough? Do you?" Pyrrha looked down as Jaune stared at her, his eyes red and puffy.
"I do actually," she said. It was Jaune's turn to be stupefied.
"What?" Pyrrha took a step towards him, playing with her hands.
"I haven't been entirely truthful with you. The reason why I was so surprised you asked me how I got into Beacon is because I'm the Mistral Regional Tournament Champion, four years and counting."
"Sooo, you're like a celebrity or something?" he asked. Pyrrha nodded her head.
"Yes, but I never wanted to be. My mother always wanted to be the champion but never could and ever since I was a little girl she's been having me trained to fight in the tournaments and win. But nothing was ever good enough for her. I would win and win but she never seemed pleased with how I did it. "You took too many hits", "You should have used your semblance more" nothing was ever good enough for her. Even after breaking the world record for how many consecutive years a person has held the title, she still wasn't happy "People should be too afraid to even challenge you!" So yes Jaune, I know a thing or two about not being good enough for someone." Jaune kicked at a pebble on the rooftop.
"That's why you came to Beacon, and not Haven."
"Yes, I wanted to get away from my mother; to put my skills to good use and not waste my life away fighting her battles." She walked over to him and grasped his hands again, looking down at him. "So please Jaune, let me help you. I don't want to see you get yourself killed." Jaune looked down at their clasped hands.
"Even after finding out I'm a liar and a cheat, you still want to help me?" He looked up at her, tears still in his eyes. She smiled.
"Of course Jaune, you're my leader and my friend. I want you to be the best that you can be." Jaune chewed his lip before responding.
"Okay." Pyrrha's smile grew wider and she pulled him into a hug.
"Fantastic! We can train up here. No one can see us, and people can think you are getting better on your own!" Jaune smiled
"Just promise to go easy on me. I'm not exactly regional tournament material." Pyrrha laughed.
"You will be after I'm done with you."
And that's it. Let me know what you think.