First off, in reviewing RWBY episodes for this story, I had noticed that in Jaunedice Pt. 2, Pyrrha says "Hey, I have an idea, come with me" and four hours later, they're on a random rooftop. I haven't even noticed this, despite watching it about four times, until I've considered the logistics of class times and all that.

Second, nothing new to report on the job front, I'm afraid, but that tends to take a few months from my experience. All I can do is keep applying and keep my fingers crossed.

As far as new and exciting things in my life, I made some toasted jalapeno points with puff pastry for the first time, which need some marinara sauce badly and would've appreciated further seasoning. Ah well, live and learn. Also made and sold some cupcakes for twenty dollars to a coworker, so that was cool.

I thought about also giving my thoughts on Gen:Lock in these notes, but I think that'd take way too long. The tl;dr version: I like the transhumanist subtext, the action, and the plot, but I think they should have removed the last two fights against Union in favor of fleshing out the other pilots and adding more interpersonal conflict. I'm still undecided on how good it is.

Also, to my profound embarrassment, I just realized about twelve hours after I meant to post this that I had only uploaded the document - I never added it to the story. Oops!

Chapter Four: Jaunedice

With his feet propped up on the desk, Cardin's attention slipped away as Doctor Oobleck droned on at impossible speeds about the fallout of the Faunus Uprising. No matter how Cardin approached the problem of harassing Pyrrha, he had no means of gaining leverage on her. If he tried having her visa revoked, Ozpin would surely fight it, and the House of Commons would never approve, not when it would be an international scandal. No bribe could get her to leave, and for all her fame, the best blackmail he could manage would be one scandalous article in the tabloids among hundreds.

When Oobleck asked if anyone had been subjugated for their Faunus heritage, Cardin smiled to himself. His eyes met those of the three Faunus in the room. The first, a scaly guy with slitted pupils, gave him a cold stare as his hand rose. Velvet quailed under his flat gaze, and her hand trembled when she brought it up. Blake scowled and kept her arms crossed.

Oobleck muttered something about how dreadful the discrimination was and how it incited violence, then he shot off on a wild tangent, asking about the turning point of the war. As Weiss answered it with her usual smugness, Cardin noticed Jaune snoring at the desk below his. He took one page of his notes and folded it into a triangle. When Oobleck fired off his second question, Cardin flicked the paper at the back of Jaune's head.

He woke with a start, and his hand shot out from under his chin. Oobleck raced forward, proclaiming his joy at Cardin finally engaging in the class and asking for the answer. Jaune stalled for time and looked around the room. Pyrrha waved at him and held up her hands in front of her eyes. Remembering Blake's reading session, Cardin knew she was trying to indicate their night vision, but Jaune, still groggy from his rude awakening, said the first thing that came to mind. Laughter echoed through the room, and loudest of all was Cardin's.

With a frown, Oobleck redirected the question to Cardin. He mulled over what he would say, and decided to antagonize the teacher.

"Well, it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier. Perhaps if General Lagune had thought to bring some hunting hounds, the Faunus would have lost that advantage."

Doctor Oobleck opened his mouth, but Pyrrha beat him to the reproach.

"You're not the most open-minded person, are you Cardin?"

"No, I'm not. You have a problem with that?"

"No, I have the answer."

Pyrrha explained the Faunus' superior night vision and the mistake General Lagune made in hoping to ambush them at night. Blake stepped in and called the general inexperienced. With a scornful smile at Cardin, she said, "Perhaps if he had paid attention in class and read his textbooks, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure."

Cardin rose from his seat, prepared to return the insult, when Oobleck stepped in and made him sit down. Jaune laughed at the insults and got lumped into staying after class with Cardin.

Another torturous hour later of Oobleck's incessant tangents and rapid-fire questions, the rest of the class filed out while Jaune and Cardin remained in their seats. Russell passed by his desk on the way out and said he'd save him a seat at combat class. Cardin noted that Pyrrha lingered by the door, just out of sight but exposed by her shadow reaching into the room.

Once the other students had left, Oobleck took a generous swig of coffee. "You two have been struggling in my class since day one."

No thanks to having to read everything myself, Cardin thought. With Blake helping, that'll change.

"Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is," Oobleck said, pausing for a dramatic sip of his coffee, "It stops now."

It will. Endless detentions with Oobleck would mean less time to go after Pyrrha.

"You were taught to get into this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it."

How he could say that with a straight face while looking at Jaune, Cardin couldn't guess. Must be the jet-fuel coffee addling his wits.

"History is important, gentlemen, if you can't learn from it, you're doomed to repeat it."

Ah, the old favorite of history teachers trying to delude themselves into thinking their subject actually matters. Try throwing history books at Grimm and see what happens.

"Pages fifty-one to ninety-one, I want an essay on my desk by next class."

So, tomorrow. He wants an essay tomorrow. At least he didn't specify the length or the topic, so one page of summarization should do the trick. The reading would be another matter. He had to count to find Blake's contact in his pocket, but his thumb flew across the keys as he typed a mundane check-in from an old friend.

"Now, run along gentlemen."

And like a bullet, Oobleck shot out of the room. Once the professor was out of sight and Jaune had just entered the hallway, Cardin gave him a shove in the back, sending him sprawling on the floor. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Pyrrha raced to help him up.

"You know, I really will break his legs."

Cardin walked a touch faster down the hall to the next class.

True to his word, Russell had saved him a seat near the door. Cardin slumped into his seat with a sigh.

"How bad?"

"Forty pages by tomorrow."

Russell's eyes widened. "A forty page essay?"

"Even Oobleck wouldn't be that cruel. Forty pages of reading, with a one-page essay."

"Ouch." He glanced over at Sky and Dove, who sat closer to the front. "Hey, since it's not assigned reading and on such short notice, I could make an exception. He'd understand it's to keep you from getting into more trouble."

Cardin's face lit up, but inside, he fumed at having called Blake for help. Well, a night alone on the rooftop would serve her right for the insult.

"Thanks a ton. I think my legs would explode if I tried to cram that all into one night."

Russell put a hand on his shoulder. "Always happy to help. Just don't get used to it, you know I can only do so much."

Cardin scanned the room. Further down, he saw Blake take out her scroll and read the text. She looked around the room until her eyes met his. He gave her the middle finger and motioned up towards the roof.

"You gonna get back at her?" Russell asked.

"Not yet." Cardin hastily retracted his finger when Goodwitch looked his way. "Pyrrha has to come first."

"Why? We have a whole semester before the Festival."

"And the closer we get to the Festival, the harder it'll be to get her out of it.

Russell scratched at his mohawk. "True, but if she leaves Vale too early, she could register to fight for Mistral."

"Which is why we have to start now, but time it right.

Goodwitch's voice snapped through the auditorium. "Cardin Winchester, please come up to the stage. You will be fighting Blake Belladonna."

Blake's eyes gleamed as she rose and jogged onto the stage. Cardin looked at Russell.

"Mind if I borrow a knife?"

Russell slipped him one. Cardin tucked it into his belt and concealed it under his armor. He took a few cautious steps down the stairs, and the blade stayed put.

"Good luck," Russell said.

Cardin passed by Sky and Dove on his way down. Sky gave him a thumbs up, while Dove watched him pass with his arms crossed. Professor Goodwitch glowered at him as he walked around her.

"Well, isn't this a coincidence," Cardin said as he drew his mace. "I was just in the mood to grind your face into the floor."

Blake gave him an angry smile. "You'll have to catch me first."

At Goodwitch's signal, Blake rushed forward, both blades of Gambol Shroud dancing in her hands. Cardin let them glance off his armor and Aura as he swung his mace in wild arcs. Blake ducked around his strikes and slipped past the reach of his weapon. Cardin shifted his grip all the way up the hilt and threw a punch. She faded back, and a clone materialized in her place to absorb the blow.

Cardin strode through the fading echo of Aura, let the hilt slide through his hand, and aimed a blow at her legs. Blake leapt all the way over him, wrapped the cord of her weapon around her wrist, and flung both blades at him. They struck in the chinks of his armor, gouging his Aura. With a snap of her arms, the blades flew back into her hands.

Cardin charged in and swung his mace. Blake blocked blow after blow, using her Semblance to slip back anytime he connected. Sweat ran in rivulets down his face, while Blake breathed slowly and moved with calm, even steps. A smile spread across her face.

With a yell, Cardin lunged forward and overextended on his swing. Blake brought up both blades to block it , and he let his arm go slack. Sliding into his mace, Blake used her leverage to pry apart his grip. Cardin moved forward, let go with his right hand, and reached into his belt. Just as he was about to slam into her, he brought up Russell's knife and planted it in her stomach.

Blake reeled, gasping for air. Slashes and jabs drove her around the arena. Russell's knife cut through copy after copy of Blake, always inches behind her. With an eye on his fallen mace, Cardin pressured her towards the center. Blake dodged and parried the onslaught of slashes without leaving the arena's edge.

Cardin feinted with the knife and kicked her in the side. She tried to grab and throw Cardin's leg, but he leaned into her, nearly pushing her over. Grunting, Blake swung herself over Cardin. He grabbed at her foot, and she landed on one knee. While she was on the ground, hissing from her bruised knee, Cardin ran towards his mace. Blake hands shook as she fired at the fallen weapon, but the bullets struck the mace's head. With five shots, the mace bounced out of the arena.

Blake favored her right leg as she stood. "Not so tough without your weapon, are you?"

Cardin sneered. "You're not even tough with your weapon." He flexed his arms and felt the aura flicker around him. With a yell, he ran forward, arms raised over his face. Bullets glanced off his gauntlets and bit into his aura. After four strides, he slashed at her eyes. The copy vanished, and his knife whirled through thin air.

He looked around the arena, but there was no sign of her. The audience was looking up above him. Adrenaline shot through his chest as he lunged to the left, but Gambol Shroud darted in from above and hooked the underside of his breastplate. The cord groaned, and Cardin was yanked off the ground by his armor. He clawed at the buckles on his breastplate, but they were pulled too tight to unfasten.

Blake fired a shot at his butt. Cardin bit back a yelp, turned himself, and glared down at her. She smiled smugly at him, holding the other half of Gambol Shroud in her hand, smoke trailing from its barrel. The cord binding the two halves trailed up to the ceiling.

"Ready to surrender?"

"Like hell I will."

He sawed at the cord, but Blake shot his hands, and the knife fell from his senseless grip. With a glance at the hard-light display, he activated as much of his Semblance as he dared. As his arms thrummed with power, he felt a cold, hollow sensation growing in his chest. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he pushed down on Gambol Shroud. It squealed beneath his grip, and it slid down his breastplate. Blake fired two more shots, but both hit the armor on his back. Inch by inch, his breastplate angled upward, the top of it digging into Cardin's collarbone.

Just before the blade slipped free, a thunderous crack came from above. The tension went out of the cord, and Cardin fell to the ground.

He looked up just in time to see a metal rafter falling towards him. Before he could bring up his Aura, the rafter stopped. The metal creaked as it straightened itself out, floated towards the ceiling, and melded itself back into place.

"Cardin's Aura is now in the red," Professor Goodwitch announced. "The two of you may take your seats." With a stern frown at Blake, she added, "I would appreciate it if you would behave with more courtesy, Miss Belladonna."

Cardin felt his cheeks burn as a muted chuckle filled the room. He collected the fallen weapons and returned to his seat with all the grace he could muster.

As Russell took back his knife, he said, "Damn Cardin, you're so heavy you broke the ceiling!"

Cardin looked up at the metal rafters. "I guess Ozpin doesn't have the budget to fix up his buildings. Maybe I could get the Council to lend him some lien, since he seems to be spending it all on useless professors."

Russell chuckled and looked down at Blake. She turned away from his attention.

"Hey, she shot you in the ass, didn't she?"

Cardin shifted in his seat. "She did. She'll have to pay for that."

Through lunch and Port's lectures, Cardin watched Blake and gave her threatening gestures when Yang wasn't looking. At first, she stoically returned his stares, but as Professor Port rambled on, she paled, averted her eyes, and hid herself behind a textbook.

During the free training period, she left the obstacle course the moment he went to practice on the training dummies. Yang watched her leave with a frown, and when the door closed, she moved to the dummy next to Cardin's.

"What's going on between you and Blake?"

Cardin eased up on his punches. "Why don't you ask her? I don't know anything."

The dummy rattled as one of Yang's punches caved in its chest. "Bullshit. I know you're doing something to her. Don't think I didn't see you glaring at her during Port's lecture."

"I'm just a little sore from that match this afternoon. Can't leave things like that, you know."

Yang snorted. "You got your butt kicked. Or shot, in this case." With a sigh, she said, "I suppose she dug her own grave with that one. But if Ruby finds out, I'll beat you senseless, got it?"

"Are you sure you're related? I didn't even recognize her during the initiation." He threw some soft punches, as if he were thinking. "Hey, that reminds me. How did your sister sneak into Beacon two years early?"

"She didn't sneak in! Ozpin invited her to the school after she beat up Torchwick."

Cardin threw his fist back and slammed the dummy in the chest. The plastic skeleton cracked, and the dummy leaned forward. "That's good to know. I didn't think it was due to her grades or her combat ability, but who'd have guess Ozpin would use his power like that?"

Yang grimaced and redoubled her assault on her dummy. One of its arms fell off from a brutal punch to the shoulder. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"That whole tricking people into saying things. It feels like you have a constant need to outmaneuver people."

Cardin drew his mace and caved in the dummy's chest. Its spine snapped in two, and the dummy lurched back until its head touched the ground. "Not my fault most people don't know how to keep their mouths shut."

Yang grinned at Cardin's broken dummy. "Goodwitch is going to kill you for that."

"Really? Let's see what she thinks."

Before Yang could say anything else, Cardin went to the door and waved Goodwitch over.

"Yang broke one of the dummies again."

Glynda's grip on her riding crop tightened until it creaked. "Does she have no self control?" she muttered as she strode in the room. Her eyes immediately fell on Yang and the two broken dummies.

"Two! Two dummies in one day! How many times am I going to have to tell you to control yourself?"

Yang gaped and looked back and forth from Goodwitch to Cardin. She pointed and said, "He broke that one!"

Glynda's gaze snapped on Cardin. He shook his head and said, "You have video footage, right? Instead of taking my word for it, why don't you go watch that?"

Professor Goodwitch stared at him for a moment longer while Yang spouted more protests. Pressing her glasses against her face, she flung out the riding crop and fixed both the dummies.

"I think I shall take your word for it, Mr. Winchester. Though I may disagree with much of your behavior, I have yet to catch you telling a lie." Her glare made Yang flinch. "The same cannot be said for Miss Xiao Long."

"But – but it was only one drink!" she howled. "I'm eighteen in a month anyways, so who the hell cares?"

The riding crop slapped a dummy, and it snapped sideways. "Infractions of any kind are inexcusable, Miss Xiao Long, as are lies. Take this as a lesson to be more honest with your instructors going forward. Now come with me. You already have detention tonight, so we might as well get this one out of the way."

Yang stormed out of the door. Once she was out of earshot, Glynda stood up on her tip-toes and muttered to Cardin, "Next time this happens, I will check the records. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly, Professor Goodwitch. I wouldn't dream of doing anything to break school rules or school property."

Her eyes narrowed, but she left the room without another word.

As Russell had promised, he read Oobleck's extra pages after the free training period, but he went no further. Cardin grumbled in bed as he made glacial progress through the excerpts on Nevermore Port had assigned.

At around nine, Cardin opened the window. Dove grumbled that he was letting in a draft, but Cardin told them he thought he heard someone on the rooftop. To his surprise, there was.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed. I could always be a farmer, or something."

Cardin couldn't help but chuckle as Pyrrha panicked and dragged him away from the edge of the building. Russell perked up and went over to Cardin's side.

"What?"

"Ssh," Cardin said, putting a hand on Russell's shoulder. "This could be useful."

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class, and you're not the strongest of fighters, so, I want to help you!"

Russell grinned and whispered, "She wasn't already? Guess that explains why he's still garbage."

"We can train up here after class, where no one can bother us."

Cardin's grin froze on his lips. Now he'd have to find a new meeting spot for Blake. Not to mention, she might even be up there with them. He could only hope she wouldn't interrupt them.

Jaune's voice was as hollow and defeated as an empty soda can. "You think I need help?"

Russell rolled to the floor and wheezed with laughter. Sky came over and poked his head out the window, and Dove had put down his scroll.

"No! No, that's not what I meant."

"But you just said it."

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us."

"He needs a push off the roof," Cardin whispered to his team. Russell snorted and jammed his fingers into his mouth, and Sky cracked a smile.

"You made it to Beacon," Pyrrha said. "That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

"You're wrong. I don't belong here."

Cardin's ears perked up. He leaned towards the window, careful so he didn't break the edge of the window frame, and cocked his head towards the roof.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."

The admission of guilt, so softly spoken that the wind threatened to carry it away, tickled Cardin's ear. He gripped the windowsill so he wouldn't fall out the window.

With how loud Jaune yelled, Cardin regretted trying so hard to overhear him. "I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests, I didn't earn my spot at this academy! I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied."

As many questions as that answered, it raised a few more. Where did he get those transcripts, and how were they accepted? Jaune's rant went unheeded as Cardin turned over the possibilities in his mind, whether his family acquired the fakes, or he bought them himself. No matter what path he considered, there was the matter of cost. Cardin knew all too well the bribes it would take to make a fake transcript that could hold up to a headmaster's scrutiny, and they had a price no common person could pay.

The conversation on the rooftop died, and a set of footsteps walked away. Cardin snapped back to the present moment, to his shoulders clearing the sill and the wind whipping past his nose. Not knowing which one had remained, he hauled himself onto the roof. Though he scoured the shadows for signs of Blake, Jaune was the only person he could see. He was bone-white against the dark rooftop, and his eyes went wide enough to fall out of his head.

"Hello Jaune," he said with all the honey and courtesy he could muster. "I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be a rebel."

His grin widened as Jaune begged for his silence. The stammer in his voice, the shaking of his hands, the frenzied, trapped glances of a caged animal, were like blood in the water to him. It was time to go for the kill.

"Jaune, come on, I'd never rat out a friend like that."

Jaune shied back as Cardin walked up to him. "A – a friend?"

Cardin wrapped his arm around Jaune's neck and wrenched him towards the ground. "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 gasped for breath when Cardin released him. After pondering what he could say next, Cardin ran with the first thing that came to mind.

"That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Doctor Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" He ruffled Jaune's hair, and the boy didn't move a muscle. "That's what I thought."

Once his feet found purchase on his windowsill, he lowered himself over the side of the roof. "Don't worry Jaune, your secret's safe with me."

Sky and Russell pulled him back into the room. After they closed the window, Russell laughed and clapped him on the back. "That was amazing!"

"It'll make messing with Pyrrha a lot easier, that's for sure," Sky added. "So, he faked his way into Beacon? That makes a lot of sense."

Cardin debated sharing his misgivings with them, but it's not as though he had any concrete ideas. Instead, he said, "Makes me glad we have to walk up those stairs. Totally worth it to get intel like that."

"I still think you should've gotten the dorm on the ground floor," Dove said. "They had enough space for a TV and a sofa."

Cardin shrugged and went back to the textbooks scattered on his bed. Though he tried to get through some more reading, his mind wandered back to the missing Blake and the enigma of Jaune's false transcripts.

Meanwhile, Blake, who had been watching from the slanted roof above the door, sheathed her weapon and went back to her room.