A/N: To the Guest Reviewer who requested me to do a new story (you know who you are and I deleted that review btw) and any reviewer (past, present, or future) who may or may not have an idea for a story, let me just stop you guys right there. I am NOT taking any requests to make a new story. I am still learning how to be an active fanfiction author. At this stage, I'm can't take any ideas for a new story. Besides, this story and all other future stories that I have in mind are gonna be a very big project on its own and you will eventually find out why it's such a large project. I'm sorry but I'll have to pass on it and I apologize to anyone who may have wanted me to take a story request since I'm not taking any for now, though I do feel honored to know that some of you guys would ask me of such a thing; it shows that you like my story enough that you want me to make more.

Recent update log:
8/31/17 - N/A
8/16/18 - minor fixes and opening sequence added.
12/22/21 - Grammarly overhaul and removal of unnecessary bloat

Now then on with the story; enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs, plotline, and concepts for the story. The rights of both RWBY and anything Dragon Ball (Z, GT, Super) related, including the music that I suggest listening to, go to their respective owners, and so on.

Chapter 7: A Leader's Secret! Jaunedice

Combat Class, Beacon Academy

It has been a month since Weiss and Ruby's incident on the first day and things were… okay for Manami. On one hand, she noticed Weiss and Ruby were on significantly better terms, on the other hand, is the… match in front of her. The combatants were Jaune and Cardin and things aren't going so well for the blonde knight. Jaune charged with an overhead slash Cardin but the latter sidestepped and sent the former flying via an uppercut with his mace causing Jaune to lose his grip on his shield. The leader of JNPR quickly got back up and tried attacking with a two-hand overhead slash but Cardin blocked it easily and began pushing back.

"This is the part where you lose," Cardin taunted.

"Over my dead-" Jaune tried retorting but instead was grunting in pain when he received a knee to the stomach.

Jaune was now lying on the floor with Cardin looming over him, raising his mace for the finishing blow. As Cardin was about to swing, a buzzer went off, signaling the end of the match and the stage lights turned off.

"Cardin, that's enough," Manami announced as the TA.

Cardin backed off knowing that if he pisses her off, she'll annihilate him in seconds, literally; Cardin winced as he remembered what happened last time. During the first day of combat class, he was arrogant enough to challenge Manami to a match along with his whole team. However, he was stupid enough to piss her off… before the match even started. Once the match began, Cardin and his team's Aura levels were in the red before anyone could even blink. When Cardin looked up at Manami, all he could see were the raven-haired warrior's scathing teal eyes. He shook off that memory as Professor Goodwitch comments, "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match."

As Jaune started sitting up, he took out his scroll while Glynda constructively criticized him, "Mister Arc, it's been weeks now; please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you to decide when it's appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more… defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"

Cardin was about to say something, but he quickly noticed Manami's onyx eyes flash teal while glaring at him, so he did the smart thing by keeping his mouth shut and silently walked off the stage. Now that class was minutes away from being over, Professor Goodwitch quickly ended with announcements, "Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale so keep practicing!"

At the mention of the Vytal Festival, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby were excited and were showing it in their own unique ways; Blake however simply smiled, both at the mention of the festival and her team's antics. Pyrrha, who was next to the three excited ladies, simply just looked at the girls stoically, while Ren was keeping Nora calm.

Glynda continued with the announcement, "Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale."

Right on cue, the bell started ringing to signal the end of class. While everyone was moving to leave, a concerned Pyrrha looked at downtrodden Jaune who was still sitting on stage, looking at his scroll which shows his team's Aura levels along with his which is in the red. Manami also noticed Jaune being so glum; however, she noticed it a week or so earlier and something did not add up. Every time Jaune lost he was very glum about it; more so, his fighting techniques were not even close to a first year's level of skill, and yet here he was in Beacon. So, she made a note to investigate once classes were over. But right now, it is lunchtime and she is going to be having it with her two favorite teams.

Cafeteria, Beacon Academy

While everyone was finishing or had finished their lunch, they each began doing their own thing: Blake was reading one of her books, Weiss was filing her nails, Nora decided to tell a story with just about Yang and Ren being the only ones listening.

"So… there we were… in the middle of the night…" Nora starts.

"It was day…" Ren corrects.

"We were surrounded by Ursai…" Nora continues.

"They were Beowolves…" Ren corrects again.

"Dozens of them…" Nora added.

"Two of 'em…" Ren corrects once more.

"But they were no match! And in the end… Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora finished.

Ren sighs, "She's been having this reoccurring dream for nearly a month now…"

However, while that was happening, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Manami looked at Jaune with concern.

"Jaune… are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.

It took nearly two seconds for Jaune to register his partner's question before responding, "Huh? Oh yeah, why?"

This time Ruby chimed in, "It's just that you seem a little… not okay…"

"Heh, guys, I'm fine… seriously, look!" Jaune answers as he gives a nervous laugh.

Manami simply shook her head as she says her piece, "Not buying it Jaune. We both know you're not okay at all."

Just then the group hears noises at a nearby table; they look over to see Team CRDL mocking a Faunus student; a girl with bunny ears, specifically. However, while its true CRDL looked to be enjoying themselves, Manami quietly noted CRDL's energy signatures were fluctuating a bit as if some were hesitating in their actions, while Jaune looks away once he saw Cardin. Pyrrha then looks back to Jaune and says, "Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school."

To Manami's surprise, Jaune starts defending Cardin's actions, "Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah… he just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes!"

"He's a bully," Ruby insists.

"And seriously Jaune? 'Practical jokes?' What Cardin is doing is getting closer and closer to harassment," Manami adds.

Jaune scoffed, "Oh please… name one time he's bullied me."

Ruby starts the list, "He knocked your books out of your hand in the hallway."

"He activated your shield, making it get stuck at the door and preventing you from getting into class," Pyrrha adds.

"And let's not forget the time he shoved you into an open rocket locker and sent you flying away from the school," Manami finishes.

"…I didn't land far from the school," Jaune tried to downplay the incident.

"Dude, I was called in because you landed in the most dangerous part of the Emerald Forest, which had dozens upon dozens of Ursa Majors as well as Alpha Beowolves. Count yourself lucky that those rocket lockers are sturdy enough to handle multiple hits from several mature Deathstalkers otherwise... well, let's not go there," Manami deadpans and thought to herself, "Even Cardin's lucky that he didn't get Jaune killed otherwise he'd be charged with homicide. He got off very lightly with two weeks detention with Professor Goodwitch."

Jaune paled at that statement and nodded.

Deciding to steer the topic away from a near-death experience, Pyrrha consoles her partner by saying, "Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask…"

It was then Nora jumps in on the conversation, "OOH! We'll break his legs!"

Jaune insists as he stands up, "Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

Manami raised her eyebrow at Jaune's statement, "Everyone, huh?"

"Sorry, everyone except Manami," Jaune corrects himself.

Suddenly the Rabbit Faunus from before cries, "Ow, that hurts!"

Everyone looked in the Faunus's direction to find Cardin pulling on her left ear. The girl asks, "Please stop."

Right when Cardin was about to say something to his team, he suddenly felt a lot of pressure on his arm, forcing him to let go. He was about to talk smack to whoever was grabbing his arm until he saw that it was Manami Aoi that was intervening. If looks could kill, Cardin would have died many times over just from Manami's scathing teal eyes and he knew it. Manami rhetorically asks, "You never learn do you, Cardin?"

Weiss, Blake, and Team JNPR were surprised as they didn't even notice Manami move while Yang and Ruby just smiled; Weiss, Blake, and JNPR looked back to where Manami was seated before then back to said girl confronting the bully. Cardin simply gulps in fear and mentally smacked himself for doing what he did in front of the one person he fears the most out of the entire school. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how one views this confrontation, Manami did a Vanishing Step, reappearing behind Cardin before delivering a quick chop to the back of his neck and knocking the poor bastard out. Before the bully even hit the floor, Manami grabbed him and then handed the unconscious leader over to his team. She asks the three, "Could you take him to the infirmary for me? I need to calm down for a bit and I don't want to end up hospitalizing Cardin."

They silently nodded immediately and started to head towards the medical facilities but they were stopped when Manami told them, "Oh and by the way you three, I need to see you guys, student to counselor, so expect a notification on your scrolls soon."

Dove, Russel, and Sky knew the exact reason why she told them that but did not argue. It would've happened eventually so might as well just get it over with. The three nodded at the counselor's request once again then continued to bring their unconscious leader to the infirmary. Now that the problem is dealt with, the Saiyan of Remnant turned to Cardin's point of interest. She asked the Rabbit Faunus, "You okay, Velvet?"

The now-named Velvet was surprised but she responds, "Y-Yes, but h-how did you know my name?"

Manami chuckled, "I'm the new student counselor as well as Beacon's Honorary Huntress; my job gives me limited access to the student files so I can get some insight on the person I'm talking to."
Velvet was now speechless, she didn't think she'd meet Beacon's most powerful student/faculty member so soon, in fact, she was internally scolding herself for not recognizing her. She and her team had seen Manami in action through the live feeds during initiation and she was both intrigued and scared. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Velvet finally says, "I see, well thanks for helping me."

"No problem, besides Huntsmen should be treating others with respect," Manami replies before asking, "If I may, why didn't a second-year student like yourself fight in self-defense?"

The rabbit Faunus frowned at the question but answered, "Faunus are all looked down upon by a majority of Humans; if I fought back, I would have been painted as the attacker, not the victim."

This time Manami was the one that frowned; she knew that the Faunus's situation had gotten worse but she didn't know just how much. She sighed, "I see, well just let me know if you have any troubles, after all, it is in my job description to guide the students, or you could just talk to me as a friend; either way, my door is always open."

With that, Velvet smiled brightly; she had nothing to fear about Beacon's new student counselor after all. The rabbit Faunus nodded before she moved to leave the cafeteria. Now that the situation was defused, Manami could finally return to her friends… only when she did, she was bombarded by questions, mostly from Nora. It seems everything she did was bound to attract attention.

"How did you move so fast!? We didn't even see you move! Does this mean you're faster than Ruby!?" Nora asked.

Suddenly Ren semi-shouted, "Nora, calm down, you're in her personal space!"

Nora blinked before realizing that she was holding Manami by her shoulders. She backed off rubbing the back of her head sheepishly and said, "Sorry."

"It's fine. I kind of dealt with this a lot of times with Tai and Uncle Qrow when they wanted to see how much stronger I've gotten," Manami said then thought, "I need to keep these guys in the dark a little while longer. I need to see if these six are trustworthy enough to tell them what I really am and where my power comes from, especially Weiss and Blake. Besides, it's the truth anyway."

Nora nodded then Ren adds, "I see, but I'm actually curious about what you did just now."

Manami paused a few seconds before answering, "In the exact order of the questions asked? I'm simply that fast because of intense training; yes, I'm faster than Ruby and normally she would be irritated that someone is faster than her but in my case, she accepts this for reasons that are very personal."

"Personal for her or you?" Weiss asked.

Manami replies, "Personal for my whole family."

Weiss nods at the answer.

"Moving on to the last question, I can't really answer that yet because this is also very personal," Manami sadly answered.

Normally Nora would prod more but she could see subtle signs of fear and anxiety in the student counselor's eyes, something that she knew a little too well when she was younger; sure, Manami hid it well but they were there. She and Ren had experienced a lot ever since that fateful day at Ren's village; it was thanks to that experience that Nora was much more mature than she lets on, so she knows when to prod and when to shut up.

"Any other questions?" Manami asked.

Surprising everyone except Ren, Nora answered, "No more questions from us."

Manami looked at Nora as if she just transformed into an ugly monster. The happy-go-lucky girl of JNPR simply smiled at Manami and gave a subtle wink; it was then Manami understood the gesture and smiled back.

"She's much more mature than I thought," Manami thought before, announcing as she takes her to leave, "I'll see you guys later!"

The eight watches as she leaves and when she is no longer in sight, Jaune decides to leave as well and says, "I'm off too, guys, I'll see you in class."

What they didn't know was that Manami was keeping a watchful eye on Jaune, piecing together the puzzle of why he was below the overall average of the first years…

Later that day…

In history class, Manami was currently multitasking: for one, she is listening to Dr. Ooblek, not Professor as he constantly reminds his students, who was rapidly dashing around, taking a swig of… whatever he was drinking (Coffee maybe? Something must have him moving and speaking rapidly), and lecturing about the Faunus Rights Revolution. She wrote down notes for the class while that happened; she was also keeping an eye on both Jaune, who was currently napping, and Cardin, who wasn't even paying attention. The latter flicked a paper projectile at Jaune, causing him to be woken up abruptly; unfortunately, it was when Oobleck asked his question, "And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

"Hey!" Jaune exclaimed when he was hit. The hyperactive doctor rushed over, elated, and put him in the spotlight, "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune was struggling and everyone could see it; the boy even glanced at Pyrrha who was trying to help but did so poorly. The Saiyan student inwardly sighed but decided to help the poor boy in her own way.

"Jaune, don't react or freak out, just look like you're thinking; it's me, Ana. I'm using my telepathy to talk to you; to speak to me telepathically, just think of what you want to say," Manami communicated.

"Okay, this is weird, how are you doing this?" Jaune asked.

"I just told you how to look just repeat what I'm going to say to Oobleck…"

Dr. Oobleck asked once more, "Well, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune looked up to the doctor and said, "The advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune was Night-Vision. Many Faunus were known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

This surprised RWBY, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora; Pyrrha was surprised because while she did try to help him get the answer, she didn't expect him to explain it to that extent whereas the others just knew that Jaune was behind in all aspects according to Beacon standards. But Dr. Oobleck on the other hand…

"Precisely, Mr. Arc! But I will need to see you after class privately," Dr. Oobleck announced.

As if on cue, Cardin snorted out of amusement, but that quickly changed to annoyance when the doctor added, "You can join him as well Mr. Winchester, don't think for a second that I didn't see what you did."

The class continued as planned but while they made sure to take class notes, the others were more focused on how Jaune got the answer and explanation. It made no sense! Jaune didn't study as much as them or to at least Yang's extent (Yang is an A student, but she is barely hanging on to it, like 90.5% average. Her dad would kill her if her GPA was bad, with Ana's help). When class ended, Manami rushed to her room; to teams RWBY and JNPR that surprised them, Manami never rushed out of class before, so that left them very confused.

Once Manami was back in her dorm room, she quickly pulled out her scroll and sent that notice to the members of Team CRDL, excluding Cardin since she'll see him at a separate time, that she will need to see them on Friday after classes are finished. With that out of the way, Manami got back to the real reason why she rushed to her dorm: solving the puzzle that is Jaune, starting with what she knows already. The boy has above-average records according to his transcripts but doesn't show them in any classes, be they combat or non-combat classes. The student counselor decided to look over Jaune's files again, this time much more thoroughly; what she found was shocking. There were subtle discrepancies in the transcripts Jaune sent with the biggest one being about his Aura; for one, his Aura was never activated until he partnered up with Pyrrha, and two, he had ridiculously massive amounts of Aura, much more than the average huntsman. The Transcripts are fake! Jaune couldn't be accepted unless… Ozpin knew they were fake and let him in regardless of authenticity.

"I see you figured it out Ms. Aoi," Someone announced.

The student counselor turned around to see Professor Ozpin with a small grin. He says, "Before you ask, I knew it was a risk accepting him into Beacon but I know potential when I see it and I believe you do as well; after all, weren't you just a young girl attending a combat school before you became the hero of an entire Universe?"

"Guilty as charged Professor," Manami replied, beaming at his statement. Now she knew why he placed Jaune on the High Priority list during initiation; the boy had the potential to become an extraordinary Huntsman, and he wanted to ensure that comes true. Thanks to Manami's training, however, she knew Jaune had much more potential than Ozpin realizes; maybe someday she can help bring out all of that potential, but now is not the time.

The Headmaster smiled, knowing that the Saiyan will keep an eye on the boy to ensure that he grows, both as a huntsman-in-training and as a person. As he turns to leave, Ozpin says, "I will leave you to your duties, Ms. Aoi; please do make sure that Mr. Arc does not do something he will regret."

With that, Manami was left alone in her room. Now that she knows Jaune's secret, she decides to look for Jaune so she could talk to him; when used her Ki sense to find him, he wasn't in his room. A few more moments pass and Manami senses Jaune is with Pyrrha… and Cardin is nearby; She quickly opened her window and flew to their location.

It took a minute since she flew without trying to catch people's attention but Manami had arrived above them. She's high enough not to be noticed, close enough for her Saiyan hearing to make sense of what they're saying, and at an angle to see everything; what she saw made her facepalm: Jaune and Pyrrha were talking on the roof above Cardin's dorm room… and the bully himself was sitting on the window-sill with the window wide open. Manami sighed as thought, "Great… knowing Cardin, he's listening to what they're saying. Let's see where this goes first before I decide what to do."

She returned her gaze to the two partners and focused on their conversation.

Jaune scratched his head as he asked, "You think I need help?"

"N-no! No, that's not what I meant," Pyrrha answered.

"But you just said it," Jaune rebutted.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon, that speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Pyrrha reminds him, or so she thinks.

"You're wrong…" Jaune says as he turned away from Pyrrha, facing towards the academy grounds; he sighs before continuing, "I-I don't belong here."

Pyrrha shakes her head and insists, "That's a terrible thing to say, of course, you do!"

Irritated, knowing what he had done, Jaune turns back to Pyrrha and snaps, "No, I don't!"

This surprised Pyrrha; she had no idea why he would snap like that.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon," Jaune stated before turning away for the second time.

Pyrrha was now confused, so she asks, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I didn't go to Combat School! I didn't pass any tests! I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune heatedly answered before turning back to Pyrrha with a look of shame and guilt, "I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied."

"What?" Pyrrha said instinctively, then asked, "But why?"

"'Cause, this is what I've always wanted to be!" Jaune turns back around as he explains, "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one too. I was just never good enough."

Now she knew everything, and she wanted to help him achieve his goal. Placing her hand on her partner's shoulder, Pyrrha insists, "Then let me help you."

"I don't want help!" Jaune shrugs off Pyrrha as he turned back around and snaps once again, "I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

Pyrrha ties to say, "Jaune, I-"

Interrupting his partner, "I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives. Don't you understand!? If I can't do this on my own… then what good am I?"

Seeing what he means, Pyrrha tries to comfort him but Jaune just backs away and says, "Just leave me alone. Okay?"

Pyrrha, now downtrodden, says before walking away, "If that's what you think is best."

Jaune watches as his partner leaves the rooftop; he starts pacing, thinking that he's left alone but that thought is crushed when he hears…

"Oh Jaune…"

The poor boy turns around to see the last person he wanted to see, "Cardin!?"

The bully was smirking as he says, "I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room."

Jaune was definitely thinking, "I screwed up… very, very badly right now."

"So, you snuck into Beacon, huh?" Cardin continues, "I've got to say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel."

"Please! Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune begged.

"Jaune! Come on! I'd never rat out a friend like that!" Cardin answered as he walked closer to the helpless leader of JNPR.

Jaune was nervous; he doesn't know what to expect from the Winchester bully. He mutters, "Uh, a friend?"

Cardin throws his right arm around Jaune, putting him in a one-armed head-lock, and says, "Of course! We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."

Jaune was choking while all this was said but was dropped to the floor before Cardin added, "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, Buddy? …That's what I thought."

Cardin walked back to the edge of the roof to climb back down into his dorm room, but stopped briefly to say, "Don't worry Jaune; your secret's safe with me."

Now Jaune was left on the roof alone, all he could think was, "What am I gonna do?"

Manami sighed, she kind of expected Cardin to blackmail Jaune; good thing Cardin technically has nothing on Jaune to keep him on a leash. However, the two don't know that...

"Hmm... Jaune doesn't want help yet he needs something to give him a little push," Manami thought then smiled as she continued, "Seems like Jaune needs this right now; obstacles in life will only serve to make people grow once they overcome it. I'll treat it as a test by keeping an eye on those two for now and just observe; if he needs the extra push, I'll step in around the time of the field trip in the coming weeks."

With all of that taken care of, she set flew back to her dorm, but two things happened without her knowledge: the first was that Jaune saw her when he looked up to the night sky in exasperation. He thought he saw something human-like flying, but put those thoughts on the back burner for now, as he had one big problem to deal with. The second was that her scroll got hacked by a few of Demigra's spies hiding near Beacon Academy is one of a few blind spots where there were no cameras; they're trying to find useful information that could be used in Demigra's favor. Fortunately for Manami, she had installed high-end security software thanks to what she learned from Trunks, so they couldn't get much from her scroll. However, what they got was enough as it pertained to information about the field trip to the Forest of Forever Fall. The leader of the small group of spies gave his subordinates an order, "Inform Master Nyx of this field trip; she'll want to know about this…"

A/N: Well, shit... Cardin's got Jaune on a leash and Manami's using this as a test for Jaune; looks like he has to "nut up or shut up" in this case (Digital Cookie to whoever understands the reference). Worse, Demigra will know about the Field Trip... this is gonna turn very bad, very fast. What will happen? Find out in the next chapter on Dragon Ball RWBYverse. Leave a review of your thoughts and what could be improved or if I made any mistakes that may affect the continuity of this story so I can fix them. See you guys in a month!

Next Chapter: The Tests of Leadership and Power! Forever Fall.