Alright, new stuff, new area. I will be skipping more days over time, as every single day cannot be important enough for me to show you, the reader. Plus, I am sure you would prefer to see the canon characters do stuff. I hope you prefer for me to skip over the lessons and focus more on the daily moments, story, and combat moments.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. Have a nice day/evening!

Chapter 5: New Friends, New Details

April 20th

Saturday

Clear

It was seven in the morning and Azura came out of the shower to see an empty dorm room. He shrugged, assuming that they were at the cafeteria area, or perhaps mess hall was a better term, and walked around to gather his materials for the day. He was in his normal clothing, this time in dark colored jeans to match his black shirt and boots. Instead of blue and red being his only colors, he was down to the red on the inside of his sweatshirt and hood.

Once he had his scrolls in his pocket, and his wallet in the other, he wondered if he was missing anything. A tug on his arm showed Luna waving around his sword in its other form, and he held his right arm out, where she slid the band up until it was snug on his arm.

"I still don't understand how this can turn into a sword."

Well, that was a bit of a lie. He knew how it worked, the sword being made of several parts that locked together to make up the sword. The ribbon made up one of the clinks in the band, and it was what allowed him to make the sword shift between the two forms with a single pull.

"You know, we should step it up another notch. I doubt people would notice the band transforming on its own while I pull the pistol out." Azura said, looking into Luna's eyes.

She nodded in response, coming in close to hug him, her tail wrapping around him as she did so.

Azura let out a quiet laugh as he hugged her back. "Love you too, mom."

As he left the room, he was met with an open door straight to team RWBY and their dorm. Had they somehow left it open?

"I doubt Weiss would have allowed this."

A shuffle inside of the room told him he wasn't alone, and the blur of rose petals confirmed it to be Ruby. The girl appeared in front of him, face slightly red.

"Is there a reason why you're running around in your room with the door wide open?" Azura said, raising an eyebrow.

Ruby looked left and right before answering. "I...er, well...I lost my scroll. And I figured I left it here."

Azura ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "And you thought that making dozens of rose petals would help?

Ruby blinks once. Then twice. She grabbed her hair as she let out a small shout. "Okay, I admit, that wasn't the smartest thing I have done." She turned around, looking over the room. "Don't tell anyone! I don't want them to think I can't be grown up and mature."

"I doubt that they would think that."

"Nope!"

She was back at it, pacing around the room as she looked for her scroll. A look on both sides of the hall and a peek in the room as he leaned against the door frame showed that Summer was nowhere to be seen. He figured that she was with Yang. I mean, she was her mother as well, right?

"Why don't you just have me call your scroll? It'll be easier that way."

She stopped in her pacing before turning towards him. "Yes! That would be fantastic if you could do that."

After getting her scroll number, they found the scroll under her pillow. Azura shook his head, amused as she had a little victory dance.

"Shall we head on over?" He asked.

"Yep." Was the reply, the short girl popping the 'p'.

As they walked, Azura took notice of her change of clothing. Instead of what he thought she might wear, that being her combat dress, she was in more casual clothes. A short sleeve shirt that was white with a red jacket was covering her top, barely hiding the headphones she had on. Black skinny jeans were on, and her boots were now simple red shoes. The cloak was missing as well.

"That's different than usual. Am I just that simple when it comes to clothing?"

Ruby laughed. "No, you just don't have a lot of casual clothing. But, thanks for noticing."

Azura hummed, watching Luna float around Ruby, studying her outfit.

"Oh, and our groups have been formed, mainly between what people want to see. It's for those who have not seen a lot of Vale, so what do ya want to see?"

"Well, we will see. What are the groups?"

"Well, we have a group with Yang, Ren, Nora, and Blake, and she said she was going to show the libraries and museums, and probably some crazy place, if I know Yang. Another group is headed by Weiss, since it seems like she wanted to go on some monument hunt. I'm not sure why, but she seemed determined to go at it blind. Jaune and Pyrrha are going with her."

Ruby took a breath, about to continue before Azura spoke.

"Isn't that the opposite of what we were trying to do?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, yeah. But she was adamant about it. And I am the in final group, with Pyra with me. I'm not so sure what we will be doing, but the groups will meet up for lunch before breaking and once more for a airship back to Beacon."

"Well, I have a place to go to, it's near to the airship docks, and it's how I know the way to Beacon. And, I'll go with you and Pyra. One sounds possibly dangerous, knowing Yang, and the other sounds tiring. Plus, I get some peace if I go with you and Pyra." Azura replied.

Ruby nodded with vigor. "That sounds good to me! And, we can go to your stop first, since it's nearby."

After they made it to the mess hall, Azura grabbed what he could find and sat back down to eat. He only got to eat after he and Pyrrha were asked about their semblances and that exercise they did. It took a few minutes to get their questions over with. He liked them, as he knew Pyrrha did, but it was still their secret to hold. He hoped they would leave it as is for now.

He was finally eating as he watched the discussion of places to go to happen between everyone, amused as they put just a tad bit too much thought into it all. They decided upon a diner called 'Torches' for lunch around one in the afternoon. Soon after, they were on a airship to Vale. Azura noticed that most of the group was wearing their usual combat gear. However, Jaune was stripped of his armor, and Pyrrha had a brown sweatshirt on and loose jeans, a pair of gray sneakers on her feet. Pyra was the other one wearing different clothing, a black long sleeve shirt and dark blue jeans. Her combat boots were switched with black work boots.

Azura was still amused as the airship left the dock, seeing Jaune already look uncomfortable as he sat near the trash can. Poor guy couldn't catch a break.

"So," Ruby started as she sat down next to Azura. "You excited to see Vale beyond the small stuff you've already seen?"

Azura nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "I'd say so. You still have no idea of what to do?"

"Well, I do have an idea…" Ruby said, fidgeting in the seat.

"What are you thinking of?"

Ruby blushed, looking embarrassed. "Well, I tend to just check weapon shops out. I admit to not knowing every part of Vale as well as the shopping districts. I'm not really sure what else would be good."

"I'm fine with that." Azura said, before looking at Pyra. "That sound good to you?"

Pyra nodded. "Sounds perfect. I might already be familiar with the area, but I didn't have many ideas of what to show you anyway."

"See? We'll be fine with whatever you decide to show us."

Ruby smiled. "Good. We'll start with your destination first."

"His destination?" Pyra asked, leaning forward to see.

Azura was the one to answer. "The 'Adel Boutique'. Some...friends of my mother were kind enough to accomodate me the month before Beacon started."

Pyra hummed her answer and shot him a look. He smiled in return.

"Well, that is certainly nice of them! I can't wait to see them." Ruby said, her eyes warm as she smiled.

.

.(Line Break)

.

They got off the airship and entered the central plaza, the buildings nearby marking the line between Beacon and Vale. As they gathered into their groups, they all confirmed when they would be meeting up, before splitting up. Ruby turned to Azura and Pyra once she saw them leave.

"Well, show we go?"

They both nodded, and Azura took the lead.

"You know, this is kinda ironic. I'm new to this place, and I get to show you something you guys haven't seen." Azura said.

Ruby gawked as Pyra snickered.

"Well, you won't be doing that for long." Ruby retorted after a second, sticking her tongue out.

Azura looked back as he walked. "You're kinda adorable when you act annoyed."

He quickly turned around after. Despite him finding it funny that a ghost was discussing something with a mute ghost, he still couldn't look at Summer without feeling anxious.

It only took a few minutes to reach the boutique, the sign flipped to say that it was closed still. The three of them walked in on Azura's insistence that it was okay.

"The doors wouldn't be unlocked otherwise. They are expecting me this morning."

The inside of the store had a very warm interior, the chocolate brown walls a good contrast for the different colored clothing throughout the stores. If Azura didn't know better, he would say that this was just a average store. But as he walked through the store, he remembered how fashion-crazy the Adels were, the clothing having intricate designs on one side and bright, flashy colors on the other, and a lot in the middle. It was quite intimidating for someone who didn't put much into fashion and clothing.

As they moved through the store, Ruby and Pyra were whipping their heads back and forth. He couldn't blame them, he did the same thing when he first came here. They eventually reached the center of the store just as the Adel matriarch, Hazel Adel, walked out from the back, the woman looking like a older version of Coco, just with longer hair. Azura shivered as he remembered the woman showing him how she and Coco looked so similar in his time living with them. Or well, living in the second floor of the store. Not that he blamed them or hated them for it, they were still quite kind. They gave him shelter, food, and a decent living space. They just didn't have the space for him at their private home.

"Oh, if it isn't our white-haired boy! It's good to see you again, I do hope Beacon is treating you well." Hazel said, wrapping the boy up in a hug.

He was let go a second later with Hazel taking notice of Ruby and Pyra.

"Who are these cuties, Azura? Friends from Beacon?"

Azura replied as he looked around the store for Argo, Coco's father. "They're friends I met during the first day. The black haired one is my partner, Pyra Sol, and the other is Ruby Rose, leader of team Ruby, or R-W-B-Y. Where's Mister Adel?"

"He won't be here for a while yet, the old oaf. He's sleeping in, so it will just be me. Now, are you all on the same team?"

"Uh, no. They don't actually have a team." Ruby answered, eyes widening to further explain once she saw the confusion on her face. "They are a part of team Juniper, or team J-N-P-R, but not as an official team. There wasn't enough people for them to have a team, but they gladly accepted Azura and Pyra! I mean, I would have accepted them as well, but Headmaster Ozpin dismissed us before anything…"

Hazel laughed. "Cool down girl, I'm sure you would have helped them out. Just make sure you bring your team and that team Juniper next time."

She turned around and put a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go find your room? I know it wasn't much, but you still have some items in there that you might want. I'll talk to these lovely ladies while you go."

Azura smiled and saluted. "Will do, boss. Try not to deafen them with boring talk!"

Hazel mocked anger and replied. "Don't take that tone with me! Only my daughter should be enough of a rebel to do that."

Azura walked off with a lazy wave, making his way towards the back, Luna hot on his trail. He made his way up the stairs and to the second floor, which wasn't that big. It had plenty of storage room, and he had set up shop in the corner of the area. It wasn't bad by any means, it was actually kind of cozy, especially when he set some boxes up to make a wall for privacy. As he made his way to the back and rounded the wall of boxes, he saw that everything was all in place still. His small pile of books, with names ranging from 'Thieving Phantoms' to 'Beneath The Mask', and the lamp he had next to the bed. Sure, it wasn't much, but it was a home of sorts.

He grabbed the bag that was on the ground, another item that he had left forgotten, and put the books inside of it. He put the bag on, before turning around and going back down to the actual store floor. He found Hazel talking about the event where she saw his weapon floating towards him, and fast walked to introduce himself again.

"I'm back! Now, why don't we get going?"

They all looked confused, Hazel asking the obvious question. "Why must you be in such a rush?"

Pyra finally caught what he was up to, following the conversation. "Well, I'm sure you have to be opening up soon, so we should get going. It was nice meeting you!"

She left with a smile, while Ruby, still not in the loop, stumbled after her. Azura gave a quick farewell, wishing her good luck for today's customers. He wasn't allowed to leave without giving her a hug, the Adel matriarch forcing him to promise to come visit sometime soon, and to say hello to Coco when she got back to Beacon.

He made his way to his friends, ignoring the confused glance from Summer, thankful to Luna for distracting her before she figured anything out.

.

.(Line Break)

.

The next place they visited was a store called 'From Dust Till Dawn'. It was on the outer edge of the shopping district that Ruby brought them to, and Azura would admit to liking the small and quiet location.

"This place is perfect for a socially awkward person like Ruby."

"I'm not socially awkward! I just don't do social stuff!" Ruby responded with a groan.

"Isn't that just the same thing?" Pyra asked.

Ruby blushed, embarrassed. "W-whatever. Let's just go and see the shop. It's been two weeks since I stopped the robbery here, I wanted to see how it was doing."

"So that's why you're the prodigy! Makes sense as to why you got into Beacon early." Azura exclaimed, putting a hand to his chin and nodding.

"I'm not a prodigy! I got lucky!"

"Now now, don't be modest." Azura replied, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Pyra continued his joke, "It'll hurt your reputation if you refuse to acknowledge it."

Ruby looked taken aback. "You guys are like mini Yangs…that terrifies me."

They all laughed for a moment before entering the store, the old man at the counter seeming to brighten once he saw Ruby.

"Ah, I am so glad that you have come back! I wasn't sure how to properly go about seeing you, seeing as we are not allowed on Beacon grounds. I can finally thank you for what you did."

Ruby, looking obviously flustered, barely gave a 'no problem' before essentially running to the back of the store.

Azura answered for her. "She means well, sir. I think she is quite happy to have been here to help out."

The older man laughed, his eyes gleaming with gratitude. "I know. And your dust purchases will be free this time young lady, as a gift to show you my thanks!"

He never got a response. Pyra was left to look at the dust collections, possibly picking out dust to buy that she needed on her semblance, if he recalled one of their conversations correctly. He needed to refill on his dust bullets, so he asked the man to show him the bullets behind the counter. He pulled out his Beacon ID, which allowed him to purchase dust bullets legally, and refilled on his missing dust bullets. He bought some extra for later, the magazines filled with the ammo being put into a contained case that he placed in his bag once he paid for it. Azura paid his thanks to the Adel family for giving him funds. He'll have to get a part-time job at some point if they weren't paid for the missions that Beacon gave once they were allowed to take them on.

He found Ruby in the corner, hiding her face in a magazine. It brought a smile to his face knowing that she really could not socialize when put on the spot.

After they left the shop, they wandered around the rest of the shopping district for a while. Azura was started to get a really good idea of what kind of place Vale was. Despite staying in Vale for a month before Beacon, he never really explored that far, not to mention that the Adel household was that far from the city had a rustic feeling, reminding him of gray skies and Atlas. The buildings were tall, stretching decently far up, and the streets were busy. He was sure had seen hundreds of people so far.

Eventually they all got a text at the same time, finding out that Yang had sent it in a group chat with everyone in it.

YXL: "Heyo other groups. If you haven't noticed, it is two in the afternoon. Wanna get some grub?"

"You guys hungry? I am." Ruby asked.

Getting two nods for answers, Ruby texted the group chat.

RR: "Yeah. Azura and Pyra say they are as well."

JA: "Well, let's meet up. We still going to 'Torches'?"

YXL: "Yeah. It's near the Airship dock for Beacon, only a few blocks away. Have fun finding it!"

Azura groaned. "Really?"

Ruby shook her head. "That's Yang for you. Come on, I know where it is."

.

.(Line Break)

.

Azura loved this diner already, the food was just that good. After a half hour or so, when most of them were done eating, they started to discuss what they would do next. As they were talking, Yang's scroll rang out, the blonde sliding out of her seat to take it.

"What's up?" A pause, a long one. "I mean, I can make it. Give me thirty minutes."

Ruby waited for her to sit back down before asking her question. "Was that the Beacon garage students? Is your bike having problems?"

"That's what I was told. Not quite sure why that is, but I said I would meet up with them to help, since they don't know all of the parts of the bike just yet."

There was several nods before Yang spoke up again. "Anyone care to join me and go back to Beacon?"

"That would be lovely. I've grown tired of sightseeing." Weiss said.

"You mean aimlessly running around?" Jaune added.

Weiss shot him a glare. "What was that?"

Pyrrha went to diffuse the short-tempered girl. "He meant nothing by it! I'm sure he is just merely tired."

Weiss sighed, but said nothing else. After a few minutes, Yang left, taking everyone else who wanted to go back. Azura was out the door after them, and held the door for the other members that decided to hang out more before taking a airship back. That left Pyra, Blake, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Azura himself to decide what to do.

"Anyone want to go anywhere in particular? I have no problem just wandering around." Azura asked.

Pyrrha groaned before responding. "Please no. I'm sure Weiss had good intentions, but I have no desire to walk and run for hours again."

"It is quite a feat to tire the Mistral champion." Pyra said in a teasing tone.

"Even I have my limits."

"Why don't we try the area around the library. It's nearby, and quiet, and quiet sounds nice at the moment." Blake suggested.

Azura had to double take for a moment. "It's nice to hear you speak Blake. You're not much of a talker, are you?"

"No. Is that a problem?"

Did her bow always twitch?

He shook his head before responding. "Not at all. It fits you, plus I think it's good to have a quiet friend you can just hang out with in peace."

He saw a faint smile on Blake's face before returning to a more passive state.

"Well, I actually know how to get there." Pyra said.

"Then take the lead." Ruby said, waving an arm past her.

Blake was correct, this part of the city was quiet. On one side, there was places to get food, with plenty of people having conversations without the bustling of the more crowded parts of the city, while the other side had a sizable park that stretched for a while.

The air felt lighter, and Azura felt a bit more at home here. It reminded him of the quiet place he, his mother, and the few other people that lived there had. It was barely big enough to be considered a village, but they were all hunters and huntresses who congregated for a peaceful place for family, and few Grimm ever came upon it. It was made of about twenty people for as long as he remembered, but he only spoke to the family who helped raise him after his mother died. They were the first people who weren't scared when they found him playing with the ghost of his mother. Was it that weird to unlock his semblance and find his own mother standing next to him?

He was shaken from his thoughts as Ruby bumped a shoulder into him. "What are you thinking about?"

Azura smiled as he took in his surroundings once more before looking at her as they walked. "The air felt lighter here, like nature. It reminded me of home."

She smiled. "That sounds nice. What was it like?"

"Peaceful, small, quiet. There weren't many people that lived there."

"That reminds me of Patch!" Ruby exclaimed. She went to explain further. "It's an island off of the shore of Vale."

Azura laughed. "I knew that, Ruby. It's where Signal is located."

"Well, what about the place you lived? You haven't really told me what it is called."

He ruffled the back of his hair and smiled. "That's because it doesn't have a name. Very few people live there, and it's out in the wilderness. It was made up of around three or four huntsmen families and me and my mother."

Ruby looked confused, but didn't act upon it. "It does sounds like a good place to be for peace. My dad always says that's why he likes Patch."

"It was. Perhaps I could show you someday. It's north of Vale."

"Only if I get to show you Patch. I want you to see Zwei."

"It's a promise then." Azura said with a nod, holding out his pinky finger.

"Yep!" Ruby replied, completing the pinky promise.

The rest of the walk was quiet as Azura and Ruby caught up with the group, small talk between the five of them mingling in with the ambiance. They found the library that they were searching for shortly afterwards, and walked inside. It was spacious, spanning up three floors, and stretching for a distance. Green-tinted windows lined the walls and carpet filled the flooring, with overhead lights hanging above.

"Well, this place looks nice." Azura said.

"I have to agree." Blake said.

They found a directory that labeled what they would find, and where it could be found. On the first floor, they had books for educational purposes and other assorted items. The second floor had fiction and books on legends. Things such as historical books and journals from famous individuals were on the third floor.

Ruby looked like she had just found her favorite candy. "Going to the second floor! See ya later!"

She was speaking rather fast, but they managed to hear her.

"I guess I'll make sure she does nothing crazy." Pyrrha said. "Does anyone care to join me?"

"Yeah, why not. It should be entertaining." Pyra said, shrugging her shoulders.

Azura put his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. "Well, I'm not sure about you, but some peace and quiet sounds good to me. Want to join me on the third floor?"

Blake nodded absently and did not respond, staring intently behind him. When she started her way towards the entrance again, Azura followed closely behind her, noticing that she seemed agitated. He looked around, wondering what could've caused her current mood, and finally found a few clues. As far as he could see, no faunus were found. It could have been pure coincidence, but he quickly found what could have been holding her attention. A sign that signalled that Faunus were not allowed, and he then found another one on the outside of the building.

It sickened him.

He quickly made his way to Blake, who was on a nearby bench, and it was obvious that she was angry. Azura couldn't understand why, she wasn't a Faunus. Not that he knew the racism against Faunus personally, since he had no discernable trait. If he had never experienced it up close and still hated it, why couldn't Blake be mad?

"You okay?"

"Why are you still here?" Blake asked, a hint of malice making it into her usually calm tone.

"Because you left so suddenly, looking angry. I understand why you wouldn't like the Faunus being treated that way, but it's surprising to find a human so passionate about it." Azura said, hoping to calm her down.

Her grip on the hem of her shirt tightened. "Is that all? Can a Human not feel that way? You don't seem to care."

Azura sat down on the other side of the bench, careful to give her space. "I do care. I'm proud to be a Faunus."

Her amber eyes focused on him. "What?"

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it sounds weird. I clearly do not look like a Faunus. My mother, Luna, is who I got it from. I'm technically half-fox Faunus. I have a picture of her if you want proof, we'll have to go back to Beacon for it though."

Blake shook her head, looking back down. "No, I believe you."

She sighed and shifted to be a few inches away from him.

"I'm sorry for letting my anger out on you."

"It's okay. We both knew places like this would exist. We can find another place for books next time we come to Vale."

They sat next to each other in silence, waiting for the others.

.

.(Line Break)

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April 25th

Thursday

Cloudy

The past few days has shown the more simple side to schools life, even with Blake being less responsive for the first two days. The rumors still circulated around, but it was normal. Monday had more homework assigned to team RWBY and JNPR(AP), and a few fun matches to watch. Yang fought and won her match, and Pyrrha destroyed her opponent, showing the reasons why she was some big deal in Mistral. Tuesday came and went, Yang continuing to destroy his back with how often she brought him to the ground. Wednesday brought more fun as Azura and Pyrrha played the same game. Miss Goodwitch no longer said anything about his semblance.

Thursday was simple so far, it seemed to be just another day. That is, until Miss Goodwitch called for a single Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester to get ready for a one-on-one match. The blonde boy seemed utterly terrified as he walked down to the arena, and a look towards Pyrrha showed her frown. Azura leaned closer to figure out what the issue was.

"What's the problem here? You both seem unsure of this."

She turned her head towards him, before looking back. "It's...well, he's not really the best fighter. I'm sure you saw that during initiation."

He couldn't really recall seeing him being a poor fighter, seeing as when he was in a fight, he was not looking after the others. He would just have to take her word for it as he shrugged to give her an answer.

"Begin!"

The only action taken was Cardin running towards Jaune while the blonde merely watched from behind his shield. The bigger boy slammed his mace down onto the shield and kicked Jaune while he was struggling to stay standing. Cardin stood there, a smug look on his face, almost saying that he found his prey. Jaune struggled up to his feet, keeping his eyes on Cardin while he caught his breath. Cardin gave little time, as he started to run at Jaune again, slamming his mace on Jaune's shield, but was met with more resistance as Jaune managed to hold his ground, poking out of his shell like a turtle as he stabbed towards Cardin, forcing him to back away.

Cardin looked rather annoyed at the act, almost like he was furious that Jaune would dare to take action against him. Their aura was at 91% for Jaune, 97% for Cardin.

Azura was shocked. "His aura is massive. Even with the shield, that is small amount of aura missing for the strength Cardin has."

Yang was the next to comment. "Big aura won't save him from losing."

"I believe in him!" Ruby said, a certain passion entering her voice.

The fight went on for a few more minutes, and it was clear that Jaune's strategy, while not horrible, would not result in victory. Cardin was at 73% aura, while Jaune was at 40%.

"For a leader, he is lacking in ideas." Weiss commented, her cool tone almost cutting the air.

"I hate what the Ice Queen is implying, but he won't be winning like this."

Weiss was ready to reprimand Azura before Yang cut in with her loud voice. "Ice Queen? I love it! We got Snow and Ice Queen, you guys are like two peas in a pod!"

Weiss shot a glare at Yang, sparing Azura only a 'I hate you' look as he smiled sheepishly. He hadn't meant it to turn into a nickname.

"Well, he doesn't look like he has no clue as to how to swing a sword." Pyrrha said, remaining hopeful.

The battle only lasted a minute longer, with Jaune at 23% aura and getting knocked out of the arena after being backed into a corner. Cardin was just barely above sixty percent, breathing a little harder than usual, but still smiling smugly, like he hadn't been held off for minutes, even if Jaune did very little else beyond tanking the hits.

"He has longevity." Azura commented.

"But poor skill in his own weapon." Weiss countered.

"That is correct. Perhaps he chose to switch what weapon to use?" Azura continued.

Weiss took a moment to respond. "But why would he do that? I appreciate you playing the advocate for Jaune, but that match was odd."

He had not argument for that, he knew she was right.

Miss Goodwitch cut off the conversation as she gave her usual advice. "Mister Winchester, you may have won the match, but make sure your arrogance doesn't get the better of you. Mister Arc made you run for minutes as he took hit after hit, please conserve your energy. As for you, Mister Arc, you have shown very unremarkable combat abilities so far, despite being in only one match. Make sure you do not prove unable to fight in the coming weeks.."

As she called for the next participants to go, Jaune made his way to his friends, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Hey guys. I must have looked bad out there, yeah?"

"You did fine for your first match. Besides, that Winchester fellow is certainly strong." Pyrrha said.

Azura felt weiss put her eyes on him, almost trying to gain his attention. When he did briefly meet her gaze, he found a sense of frustration. He felt the same, Pyrrha was giving him a bit too much credit. He didn't do bad, per se, but he certainly did not do fine.

The fight wasn't mentioned at all for the day, but dinner had one less person talking, and it wasn't Blake.

.

.(Line Break)

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May 9th

Thursday

Mostly sunny, few clouds

It had been three weeks since Jaune had lost his first match to Cardin, and it wasn't looking good for him. He was put into a match every combat class, and it was not helping his case. He had won a single match, against other students that weren't at the highest skill level, but it was more because of his massive aura than anything else. They had just left combat class, and Jaune looked even more defeated than Azura had ever seen. Cardin had won again for the fifth time, Miss Goodwitch had seemingly insulted him, likely without meaning to, and Pyrrha hovering over him, like Luna and Summer did to him and Ruby respectively, did not seem to help.

Over dinner, Nora was telling some grand tale, with Ren lazily fixing the lies in the retelling of her dream. She was already in the middle of it.

"It was a dark night, barely any light shining on the ground..."

"It was midday."

"And as me and Renny traveled through the crumbled ruins of the town, we encountered several packs of Beowolves…"

"We were in the forest, and it was two Ursa."

"We were struggling to even make it through the town center…"

"It was over in a minute, barely a dent in our auras."

"We skinned the Beowolves and made butt loads of money!"

"You can't skin the Grimm, Nora. We got a thanks from the local farm that was having trouble."

Azura had to admit, it was entertaining to watch Ren tell the actual story over Nora's fantasized dreams. It was quite a simple affair, but a look over at Jaune as he sat next to Ruby said that he wasn't paying much attention.

"Jaune? Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked as she leaned forward.

He looked up, looking wooden and not all there. "Wha-? Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Never better!"

Jaune looked anything but good. He looked downtrodden.

Ruby spoke next, twiddling with her fingers. "Well...you just look...not okay."

He waved his hand to dismiss the concern. "No, no. Really, everything is great."

Pyrrha continued. "Even with Cardin?"

Jaune looked away for a moment. "What do you mean? Cardin is just fooling around, you know how he is."

"By bullying you?' Pyrrha retorted, staying as calm as ever.

"Pft. Name one time cardin has bullied me." Jaune said, using air quotations over the word 'bullied'.

"Knocked your school materials out of your hands." Pyrrha said.

"Unlocked your shield to trap you in a door." Ruby supplied.

"Locking you in a rocket locker." Ren added.

"Launching it." Nora said in a singsong voice.

Azura snorted at the last one, stopping once Ruby elbowed him. He muttered a quick apology to her, satisfying the younger girl.

Pyrrha continued after a moment. "If you ever need any help, you know that we would help you."

He seemed almost insulted by the remark, but something caught his eye before he could retort. Following his gaze, he saw Cardin bullying a rabbit Faunus student. As Azura stood and went to move around the table, he saw Jaune stand up roughly, freezing him in place. Azura saw Blake look ready to move as well.

Before either boy could so much as walk, the chocolate brown haired Faunus broke away from Cardin, rushing off towards a far corner. Jaune walked away with a sigh, shoulders slumped again. Azura saw Cardin grinning smugly, he and his team standing up and moving the other way. An anger boiled up inside of him, a desire to put Cardin in his place.

Azura was rushed out of the mess hall by the rest of the group before he could go after team CRDL, feeling Blake place a hand on his back to give him a push forward. He put his feelings away, knowing what Blake was attempting to convey without words.

They were in the library, working on their school work. If it weren't for Ruby keeping his attention on the work, he wouldn't have been able to work at all. Despite that, he couldn't help but notice that Jaune was missing.

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.(Chapter End)

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Another week (a bit longer than that.), another chapter. This is what I am trying to achieve, so that I can keep my motivation going. I am enjoying writing this, so it isn't that hard to keep writing. Anyway, this is the Jaundice arc coming up, so I want to give some more depth to it and Jaune. I feel that this was not given the screen time it needed to become the cornerstone of growth for Jaune as a character. I hope you liked the moments in Vale and character conversations. I suck at group conversations, so I apologize if I keep them between four or five characters when there are ten characters present.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!