Another week; another chapter. I'm glad to see out of 8,000 words of the last, everyone focused on the truly important part of Ruby biting him.
Stay classy guys… never change. xD
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Kegi Springfield
Chapter 9 – Heart Bleat
For Yang, it was like every birthday rolled up into one. If their dad were here, he might have disagreed, but as she looked down on her sister, whose face was as red as her hood, she couldn't bring herself to care. "So basically," Yang grinned, "you gave him a hickey?"
"Nooooo!" Ruby cried. "I've told you, it's not like that! Jaune was carrying me-"
"Bridal style," Nora interjected. The orange-haired girl then held up her hand in time to catch the high-five Yang sent her way.
"T-That doesn't matter. I fell asleep. It didn't mean anything!"
"Are you saying you fell asleep in his arms?"
"Yaaaang," Ruby's face fell onto the table and she groaned into the woodwork. "You're the worst sister ever! We didn't sle- we didn't do anything like that. I fell asleep studying and Jaune carried me back to my room because Weiss couldn't lift me."
Yang nodded solemnly, in understanding and acceptance. She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. "And that's when you gave him a hickey." she said.
The cookie bounced off her face. "You suck," Ruby grumbled.
"And you suck a bit too hard," Yang retorted. "Oh, my little sis – all grown up and marking her man."
"Ya-ang!" Ruby growled. "It wasn't like that, I swear."
"See, I would believe you sis… but first of all, you say you fell asleep studying, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Since when do you do anything like that?"
"Erk!" Ruby's face went red. "I-I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm going to study more."
"Sure you are," Yang grinned. "Don't worry Rubes, your big sis is a cool girl. She knows what it means when a guy and girl go for a `study session`." She made sure to hold her fingers up in big comma signs as she said those two words.
"No, no, no, no, no," Ruby whipped her hands back and forth. "Weiss, tell her, please."
The white-haired girl sighed and leaned on the cafeteria table. "Ruby does tell the truth," she said. "I found her asleep after having studied through some course material, and I did call Jaune to help carry her."
"Poo," Yang groaned, "That's less fun."
"But," Weiss smirked, "I didn't make her talk about him in her sleep… that was all Ruby."
Yang's head pivoted, eyes sparkling in anticipation.
"WEISS!" Ruby cried, waving her hands furiously. "Don't listen to her, she's lying! It's not true! Tell them it's not true, Jaune!" she begged.
"It's not true," Jaune said dutifully.
"At least try and sound convincing!" Ruby's voice rose in pitch. "Argh, you tell them, Pyrrha. Tell them you didn't hear me say it!"
"I don't know," Pyrrha paused to think with a gleam I her emerald eyes. "Was this before or after he tucked you into bed?"
"PYRRHA!?"
"And without even a goodnight kiss," Weiss sighed. "She seemed quite upset."
"WEISS!" Ruby looked like a volcano about to go off.
Yang roared with laughter, rocking back on her seat and drawing more than a few eyes there way. She didn't care about that, though, not when she got to watch her diminutive sister wildly thrash her hands at her team leader, who fended them off with an amused expression. "Oh, Pyrrha, Weiss-cream," Yang giggled, "I didn't know you guys had it in you. I'm impressed."
"Now Ruby," Pyrrha caught the girl's arms and held her partner back. "There's no reason to be embarrassed; hormones are a part of growing up."
"You're both traitors," Ruby pouted. "I've been betrayed by my own team!"
Yang and Nora shared a quick look and a laugh, even if it wasn't really at Ruby. Honestly, as much as she loved teasing her sister, she felt better because their team was getting on at last. Weiss teased Ruby, and Pyrrha joined in, which meant they were comfortable around one another. She hadn't been blind to the drama in it before, even if her sister probably had been. Something has changed for them, and in a good way. Guess that's a weight off my shoulder.
"It's official," Ruby stated, cheeks still red, but her lips tilted in a small smile regardless, "My team sucks."
"We suck?" Jaune protested, sounding honestly hurt for a moment. "But I thought you did… or at least you sucked and bit on my neck."
"Oh, a bit of both?" Yang asked, wrapping a hand around her horrified sister's shoulders and covering her mouth so she couldn't speak. "Tell me more. As her sister, I need to know every little detail."
"Huh? Well, that makes sense, I guess. My sisters say they have a right to know everything I do too." Jaune nodded his head, ignorant of the way Ruby frantically shook hers. Ah, young love could be so adorable. "There wasn't much to it, though. I helped to carry Ruby but she leaned up and started to bite my neck. She called me a cookie too."
"Ooooh," Yang grinned and looked into her sister's wide eyes. "A cookie, Rubes? Isn't that your favourite food? Tell me… was he more of a chocolate chip kind of guy, or maybe he tasted of strawberry?" She made sure to accentuate the last word by smacking her lips together.
Ruby looked like she might faint.
"There is one thing I don't get," Jaune mused. "What's a hickey?"
The table went silent, as each person looked at the man with vacant expressions. "You've… not even heard of that?" Pyrrha asked.
"W-Well maybe I have," he flushed, "but maybe it was called something different."
"I suppose so," Weiss mused. "Slang is, after all, something picked up by socialising with other people. A hickey is hardly the technical term for it." The heiress shook her head with a small smile. "It's also known as a love bite."
Ruby squirmed and made a sound like a low keen past Yang's fingers.
"A love bite?" Jaune said, tilting his head and accidentally revealing the lurid mark. "That sounds… nice, I guess." He nodded and turned to look at Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby. I will treasure and wear your `hickey` with pride."
Her sister looked like she wanted to pass out, if only to escape the humiliation. Even Yang's cheeks were a little red at that, and she drew her sister into her side with a nervous laugh. "Okay, maybe we should give Rubes a break before she dies of blood rushing to her head. So, your team seems to be getting on a lot better now, Weiss-cream. Sorted out your little problems?" The chance of topic was clumsy but the team leader accepted it with a vaguely amused smile.
"We're doing a lot better now, yes. Things weren't perfect but I'm confident we'll become a team worth watching out for."
"Oh?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a challenge. Are we going to take that standing guys?"
"No!" Nora yelled.
Ren sighed.
Blake flipped a page in her book.
"I said," Yang repeated with a flash of red eyes, "are we going to take that standing?"
Pink eyes locked onto hers, as unconcerned as they always were. The leader of their team met her gaze, sighed and rolled his eyes. "No," he said, in a tone that could have defined lethargy. Yang looked to Nora with a suffering expression.
"You need to be firm with him," Nora chided. "Renny needs an abundance of love and attention to operate, I've told you this."
"Please don't listen to her."
"He's like a vending machine of love. You have to put some love in, but sometimes the lovey goodness you want back gets stuck in the mechanism and you need to give it a few good hits to shake it loose."
"Nora, that is the worst analogy I've ever heard," Ren sighed. His eyes widened when Yang stood up and raised her hands as though to shake him, however. "We won't stand for it," he rushed out. "Team Ribbon will be the best team!"
Huh… what do you know, Yang mused. Nora was right.
"If you think that will work on me, you have another thing coming." Blake said.
"Oh wow, I read this interesting book on Blake's shelf," Nora began.
Blake's book struck the table immediately. "Fight team, fight," she chanted, eyes frantically wide. "Team Ribbon, represent."
"Yay for team solidarity!" Nora cheered.
Ruby blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Actually… I think I'd rather stay on my team now. At least they're a little less insane."
"Insanity is in the eye of the beholder," Yang shrugged, ignoring Blake's comment on that being beauty. "Anyway, you skipped out on me last night, Rubes. You going to come round tonight and play games with us? You'd be surprised how good Ren is."
"Ah," Ruby scratched her head and looked towards Weiss. "I've got a study session with Weiss tonight. We could play some on the weekend though."
Huh… so Ruby was honest about the whole studying thing? That was new. She'd never really cared about it before, but the way she looked to Weiss and the other girl nodded seemed to cement it as true.
"You did work quite hard last night," Weiss hummed. "We had three hours planned tonight, but I suppose if we worked hard for one and a half, you could spend the rest playing."
"Really?" Ruby asked, hands clasped into fists before her chest.
"Only if you work hard!"
"I will, Weiss. I promise!"
"Well," Yang smiled, "It's good to see you both so fired up. Why don't you come along Weiss-cream? We could make a night of it."
"Don't push your luck," the heiress grumbled. "I'm only being fair with her. If she doesn't do her best, she'll have to study for longer."
Somehow Yang didn't think she'd need to worry about that. As much as her sister loved to goof off, a promise from her was as good as a law. If she said she would study had, she would. She'd struggle, maybe… but in terms of effort, few people could beat Ruby. Still, Yang couldn't help but smile fondly as she watched Weiss struggle to push her amorous sister away, who was currently trying to hug her `kind` and `bestest` team leader.
"What about you?" Yang asked the last member of their team. "You ever play video games, lover boy?"
"Me?" Jaune looked to Ren, as though to she were talking to him. Heh, how cute. "I had a game console once, but I didn't have many games for it. There weren't too many places to buy them from but my Uncle Watts would often try and bring some home for me."
"Aw, that's cute. Uncle Qrow used to do the same for us, though I think he played them first to make sure he could win." Her uncle could be such a child sometimes, even if he was pretty cool. Not that she'd admit that to his face, obviously. "You should come and play, then. If you're as good at gaming as you are at kicking ass, I'm sure you'll do well."
"Sure. That sounds like fun. I only really have my sisters to compare myself against. It'll be fun to see how bad I do against you guys."
"Bad?"
"My sisters are really good," he lamented. "They normally bet things on the games, and then make me do them when I lost. Well, big sis didn't, but the others did."
Oh yeah, that sounded familiar. "Things, like…?"
"Brushing their hair, tea parties, massage…" Jaune shrugged as though to say the list went on. Yep… it was uncle Qrow all over again, except that he normally had her or Rubes wait on him hand and foot, or shout out at the top of their voices how awesome he was. "Anyway, yeah, I'd love to come over tonight when Ruby does if that's okay."
"Sure," she grinned, "We'll make a date of it."
"We will?"
Yang was about to answer, but for a pained voice that sounded out over the cafeteria. It cut through all conversation, not only hers but Weiss, Ruby and Nora's too. As one, their eyes drifted further down the hall, to see four burly teens surrounding a brown-haired girl.
Winchester… Yang scowled as she watched him tug on the girl's faunus ears. She wanted nothing more than to go over there and deck him, but that would no doubt land her in a heap of trouble. Defend yourself, she urged instead, eyes focused on the girl. You're a huntress-in-training, aren't you? Do something.
She didn't. Like a frightened rabbit, she quailed before them as they laughed and joked between themselves. "It must be hard to be a faunus," someone mumbled. She ignored it, but looked up when she felt Jaune's hand tug at the sleeve of her uniform.
"What are they doing?" he asked.
"Being assholes. Some people like to try and lord themselves over others. They act like they have the right to everything and anything they want."
"Them?" Jaune's tone made it clear what he thought of that, and she snorted in agreement. "But they don't own Beacon and it's not like they have any positions of power… do they?"
"No, but to some people strength is power enough. They're bullies," she grunted. "They're probably cowards themselves, but that's why they try to find someone weaker than them to pick on. Makes them feel bigger than they are."
"That's silly… if you're higher up than someone, then what do you gain by picking on those below you? That just means they can't do their jobs properly."
"Business analogies don't apply here," Weiss interrupted, having no doubt heard her partner's conversation. "Winchester is, for better or worse, a bully. The law of the playground, or so they say."
"There's a law on the playground!?"
"It's a saying," the white-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I understand that you're unfamiliar with such, but try not to take everything so literally."
"Right, sorry…"
Silence spread between them as Yang weighed the pros and cons of interfering. If she did, Cardin would feel pressured and would need to accept her challenge to save face. That was good, since she was fairly sure she could wipe the floor with him, but bad since starting a fight in the cafeteria would probably land her in a heap of trouble. I'm no good at sorting things out with words. Doesn't she had a team to help her or something?
"I'm going to go and talk with them."
"Wait, what!?" Weiss spun and tried to grab her partner but he was already gone, strolling over towards the impending fight without a care in the world. Cardin's lackeys saw him coming and formed a semi-circle Jaune walked straight into.
Seriously, couldn't he read the mood? Yang made to push herself up and rush after him, only to pause when Ren grasped her wrist.
"Watch and see," her partner advised. "He's strong. You know that."
"There's four of them."
"And there are eight of us. If they try anything, he will be able to hold the few seconds it would take us to react." Ren turned back towards the scene, eyes curious. "I don't think he intends to deal with Cardin through violence."
Yeah well, that was all well and good – but what if Cardin wasn't quite so inclined? Yang's teeth teased her lower lip but she settled down when she saw the others not making a move. They all watched, some more intently than others. Blake, in particular, had her eyes glued to his back.
It was too far to hear anything… she wished it was otherwise, but when Cardin said something to Jaune, all she caught was his mouth moving and the hum of other conversations around her. Jaune must have said something back, but judging from how Cardin's face went red and his eyes narrowed, it hadn't been the friendliest of greetings.
"You sure he's going for a peaceful resolution…?" Yang asked, as she watched Cardin get more and more worked up.
"I have been known to be wrong," her partner admitted.
"Wow, our team leader is so inspiring." She saw Cardin scowl and through his arm violently to the side. "Right," she gritted, "I'm going up there to back him up. Don't wait up on me if I get detention." She pushed herself up from her seat, only to freeze in shock as Jaune did something she never expected.
He reached out and grabbed Winchester's ear.
/-/
Jaune rubbed Cardin's earlobe between his thumb and forefinger. It felt soft enough, he supposed, but he really didn't see what the appeal was. Still, Cardin had mentioned it, so it had to be important. Oh right, wasn't there something he was supposed to say? "Wow… your ears are real too, Cardin. That's impressive."
"Wha-!?" Cardin pulled himself back, wincing slightly as he tugged his ear out of Jaune's hand. He clapped his own to it, cupped to the side of his head as he glared at Jaune. "What the hell was that for you freaking weirdo!?"
Weird? Jaune felt a pang of anxiety as he noticed everyone in the cafeteria staring at him. Crap, was this another mistake? "I'm not weird," he said. "You said you grabbed her ears because you wanted to see if they were real or not. I was just doing the same. If anything, that makes you the weirdo."
"Infallible logic," Remy congratulated. Around him, the students on various tables started to laugh too.
"You… bastard!" Cardin growled, red-faced and almost spitting. He still kept his ears away, however. "You think you're some kind of hot shit, just because you made a big showing in initiation? I could have taken down that Nevermore too. It was nothing special."
"Nevermore…?" Jaune blinked. "Oh, the one from initiation. Sorry, I forgot about it for a moment." His words seemed to make people mutter and talk amongst themselves. "Anyway, it's no big deal. You know what they say; plenty more Nevermores in the sky."
"Who even says that!?"
"Well, my little sister does," he admitted. "There's a lot of Nevermores around where we lived. They're pretty harmless if you know how to handle them, though." Sure, sometimes they could accidentally cut you, especially if you held an arm out for them to land on, but they never meant anything by it.
"Empty boasts," Cardin cut one arm to the side.
"What? But I do have a little sister."
"Not that, you – argh!" He slammed one foot against the ground. His face was so red, eyes narrowed and his breath coming out in great pants. He looked like a Boarbatusk prepared to charge.
"Are you okay?" Jaune asked. "You look really ill, Cardin. Do you need to sit down? I could go and get you some lemon tea or something."
The tables around them erupted into laughter, which was pretty rude in all honesty. One of their peers was stood in front of them, potentially ill and in need of aid, and they wanted to laugh? Humans can be quite cruel it seems.
"If I'm sick, it's because I'm sick of you! You can't just… come over here and grab my ear."
Jaune turned to look at the girl behind him, who was on her knees and looked up at him with a degree of shock and awe. One of her ears was clasped between her hands, and she rubbed it thoroughly. The other stood upright still.
"You did with her," Jaune rather reasonably pointed out.
"That doesn't count! She's an animal!"
"Aren't we all?" His words didn't seem to help. Jaune hummed to himself as he watched Cardin get ever more worked up. His big sis would have been disappointed if she could see him. She always told of the benefits of manipulating and controlling people, yet here he was, messing up and upsetting Cardin instead. There was only one thing to do, and Jaune stared into the other teen's face. "Touch my ear."
"P-Pardon?"
"Touch my ear," Jaune repeated firmly. "Touch both of them… get a really good grip."
"What? No!"
"Do it, Cardin." Jaune took a step forward. "You wanted to touch hers, well you can touch mine. I don't mind."
"No! Back off, freak!"
"You have to," Jaune pushed forward, and then another step when Cardin fell back. "It's only fair. I mean, if you want to go around grabbing ears, then I don't mind. Or is it that you want to touch something else of mine?"
"What are you even suggesting!?" Cardin yelled. "I'm not like that!"
"Then touch my ears."
"I said no!" The last word was shouted at the top of Cardin's voice. It brought the entire cafeteria to silence. The teen's eyes opened, to look around with a mixture of surprise and embarrassment. There wasn't a single person in the hall that didn't stare at the two of them.
"Look," Jaune sighed. "I touched yours, so it's only fair that you get to touch mine."
Someone in the crowd tittered.
"Forget this," Cardin said, he scoffed and turned away, gesturing for his retinue to follow. Despite his bravado, his face was stained crimson and his shoulders were stiff. "Stay here with the freak if you want. I'm not going to waste my time."
"Okay," Jaune called. "Have a nice day though, alright?" Much to his disappointment, Cardin didn't return his well wishes. "I feel like I've messed up with him, Remy. He acts so differently to everyone else. Am I doing something wrong?"
"You're asking me?" the parasite scoffed. "I wouldn't know, but there's still the girl behind you. Might want to do something about that before she thinks you're ignoring her."
The brown-haired girl was still down on one knee when he turned about, but she looked up at him with wide, chocolate-coloured eyes. He fought for something to say, but settled for the only thing he could. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
"Eh?" The girl blinked prettily.
Jaune looked away with an awkward sigh. "What Cardin said," he explained. "You don't need to stay with a freak like me if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you." That would be cruel of him… pointless, too, which was important because his mom always said cruelty without purpose was waste.
"Um… actually, I think he meant me," the girl whispered.
Her? Jaune looked down on her with a critical eye. She squirmed and looked away, but he took the time to look her up and down. She looked normal in just about every way. In fact, she was quite beautiful, especially with how her eyes, hair and ears matched. "Why would he mean you?" he asked. "You didn't do anything wrong and there's definitely nothing that looks wrong about you. Nah, I'm fairly sure he meant me. He seems to get really bothered around me for some reason." It wasn't anything he could understand, and so he chose not to, instead holding a hand out for the girl. "My name's Jaune, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
Her cheeks flushed but she warily held out her hand to him. It was small in his palm but she had strength behind her grip. "Velvet Scarlatina," she introduced herself, "I… I just wanted to say thank you… for helping me."
Was it really such a big deal? All he'd done was help her up off the floor. Still, it seemed rude to ignore her, so he smiled. "No problem. If you ever need help again, feel free to call on me. I'll always be there if I can."
"Ah-" She looked away. "That's kind of you… very kind. I'm um… I- uh… would you like to…" She cut off and stepped back, one foot kicking against the back the other. Her ears drooped a little lower on her head.
She was afraid. The realisation was painful, even if he did his best to hide it. It was expected though really, wasn't it? He was the Prince of the Grimm. Fear was a natural reaction. "I'm making this awkward, aren't I?"
"What? N-No, you're not."
Ah, but she was so polite too. He didn't want to push her though, especially if she felt intimidated by him or something. "It's fine," he smiled to show her he wasn't offended and turned away. "I'm glad I could help you Velvet. I'll see you around." he said, then – because it was probably expected – added, "You have beautiful knees."
"E-Eh?!"
"You can't make friends with everyone, Jaune," Remy said wisely as Jaune walked away. "You did your best though."
"Yeah… at least I helped her up too. She made a pretty big deal of that."
Remy didn't respond, mostly because Jaune reached the table with the others, who sat watching him with wide-eyed expressions. "What?" he asked nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Weiss asked. "I wouldn't say that, no… just surprising."
"I think you did something good," Blake said. They were perhaps the first words she'd said to him all day. Unfortunately for her, it seemed he wasn't the only one to notice that.
"Blake's socialising!" Nora gasped. "Where's my camera, where's my camera? I need this for my scrap book, oh, I'm so proud!" He didn't think she'd get the picture, even if she did find her camera, for the girl in question's face had returned to looking like it was carved out of granite. He was dragged back down into his seat before he could do anything, and Yang's face appeared before his.
"That," she said with a wide grin, "was amazing! You are so my favourite non-partner-guy in Beacon. Have I said that before?"
"I think you said it yesterday."
"Then it's reinforced. That was so cool. I loved it."
"Really?" Jaune asked. He felt a faint spark of hope. "Cardin didn't seem to like it…"
"He wouldn't, but I think everyone else did. Hell, if I didn't think Ruby would freak out, I'd give you a hickey to match Ruby's."
Ruby gasped in horror, eyes wide and cheeks red.
Was she worried about something? Ah, he supposed he understood. "Don't worry, Ruby," he said kindly, "I won't belittle your love bite by letting anyone else do it to me as well. That would be unfair."
Funnily enough… that didn't seem to calm her down as much as he thought it would. Instead, she groaned into her arms and rested her head on the table. Huh… well at least Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha liked it if their laughter was any indication.
"Yeah," Yang said between her laughter, "Besides, he already wore yours in front of the entire cafeteria just then. It was pretty obvious too."
Ruby lifted her head and banged her forehead against the table, over and over.
/-/
Of all the lessons Jaune had been looking forward to, he wouldn't have ranked combat class with Miss Goodwitch near the top. In fact, it would have ranked closer to the bottom, and not just because he wasn't confident about it.
Sure, he didn't know how to fight very well, at least not normally – but his physical strength was pretty good and he was quick too. The main problem, at least in his mind, was the frankly terrifying woman who ran it.
She just so happened to also be one of the people who had seen him in his Grimm form, and thus would recognise him the moment he messed up and did something he wasn't supposed to be capable of. No pressure, right?
Luckily, as naïve as some might have called him, he wasn't stupid, and so quickly decided to stay hidden behind Pyrrha and Weiss (not that Weiss provided much coverage), and otherwise hope to go ignored by the teacher.
It would have worked to, were it not for the red-faced and armoured man on the stage. "I want to face Jaune Arc!" Cardin shouted, having been offered the chance to select his opponent by the teacher.
Really, though? What had he done to provoke this kind of reaction?
"Mr Arc," Miss Goodwitch called. Her eyes strayed out over the crowd and it was only a monumental effort of will that stopped him from ducking away from her gaze. She found him soon enough, and nodded in his direction. "Come up onto the stage."
"But I don't want to fight Cardin."
"What's the matter?" Cardin laughed. "Scared?"
"Not of you," Jaune said honestly. For some reason the words seemed to make the other guy's face even redder. "I just don't see the point," he added in an attempt to diffuse Mount Winchester. "I could fight you, but it would be pretty pointless."
Beside him, Yang snickered loudly.
They were here to learn how to defend the Kingdoms, after all, which shouldn't have really included fighting against their fellow hunters. Sadly, the logic didn't seem to please Winchester, nor did it Miss Goodwitch. "Mr Arc," she sighed, "I did not request your participation… I ordered it. Come up here and prepare for your spar."
There was nothing he could do. With a loud sigh, Jaune detached himself from his group, smiling when Pyrrha wished him good luck. "I don't need luck," he said back. He needed a miracle.
"Finally built up the courage to fight me?" Cardin scoffed when he climbed onto the arena. "It took you long enough."
He couldn't think of anything to say to that, so shrugged. "Sure. I guess it did."
"Tch… you think you're so smart. First, the teacher's pet and now some kind of top dog because you stopped a Nevermore and helped some stupid animal. Well you're not!"
Jaune's eyes widened as he felt some spittle from the other teen hit his face. Was Cardin that upset? "I'm not trying to be top dog," Jaune said in an attempt to pacify him. "I'm not a dog at all. I won't stand in your way if you want to be one, though."
"Oooh," the crowd whistled and egged them on.
"You-!"
"If you are both finished?" Miss Goodwitch interrupted them. "The fight will continue until one side is unable to continue or your aura has been reduced into the red. Any attempts to continue afterwards will result in swift and firm intervention." The way she smiled and flicked her crop suggested they didn't want to test her on that one. "Now, begin!"
Wait- now!? Jaune's eyes widened as he panicked and looked to his opponent. The mace was already swinging in towards him and Jaune held a hand out to summon a tentacle and catch it.
"Jaune!" Remy warned, catching him at the last moment. Of course, he couldn't reveal that, but since it was his main way of fighting, it was his instinctive response to danger. A human would have reached for their own weapon, but he fought in his own way.
That hesitation cost him. "Rargh!" Cardin yelled as the two-handed mace impacted against his foe.
"Ow," Jaune winced and waved his arm in the air. "That really hurt…"
The silence in the arena was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. The audience had gone from cheering anticipation to standing slack-jawed, while Cardin looked down at his mace in shock, then up to Jaune. He looked down again, hefted his weapon as though to check it were real, then looked back to his opponent once more. "What the hell!?" he shouted.
"That should be my line! You didn't even give me a chance to draw my weapon. Is that even allowed?"
"H-How did that not hurt you!?" Cardin roared.
Jaune blinked. "Are you joking?" he asked and pulled up his sleeve. There was a nasty red mark on his forearm. "This stings like crazy!"
"THIS IS A TWO-HANDED MACE!"
"Gentlemen," Miss Goodwitch sighed. "You are here to fight... not to engage in comedy duo. Mr Winchester, do pay attention to your opponent's aura."
Ah, the aura measurements – they were projected above the arena, weren't they? Jaune looked up to see his own, now missing the tiniest fraction. There, that was proof the attack had done damage, and also made sure no one could accuse him of not being normal.
"How much aura do you have?" Cardin growled and settled his feet into a wide stance. "Forget it… so you've got a big aura. That's nothing special!"
"Oh, it's not," Jaune agreed, only too happy to be seen as not exceptional. He was normal after all. "Don't worry Cardin, even if mine is a little bigger than yours, it doesn't make a difference."
"It doesn't! It's not size that matters but how you use it." Cardin's eyes widened when he heard the crowd start to laugh. He growled and hefted his weapon, charging in and swinging it towards his opponent's face.
This time, Jaune was prepared. Crocea Mors came out in a rasp of steel. He tried to remember the sword lessons his dad had given him; tried to recall how he'd said to hold and swing it… he also tried to forget the time he'd accidentally stabbed his dad in the leg. He'd been bedridden for weeks, not that his mom complained.
Steel clashed against steel. Cardin gasped as his heavier weapon was diverted aside with almost contemptuous ease.
"Hey," Jaune grinned, "This isn't so hard after all!"
"You bastard," Cardin howled. "Stop mocking me!"
The next blow came in from the side and Jaune flicked his weapon out to catch it again. His eyes widened when it proved a feint, however, and the mace pulled back, leaving him open. Cardin surged forward, and the butt of the weapon caught Jaune in the chest, knocking him back.
That was pretty fast, Jaune thought, rubbing his chest. Again, it hadn't done much damage to his aura reserves, but he'd been just about unable to react to it. He squared his shoulders and brought his sword before him once more, watching as Cardin came in for another attack.
The mace came from the right this side, and when it proved a feint again, this time Jaune kept his sword close to protect against the follow-up attack. Their blades locked, and Cardin settled his other hand further up it, using his immense strength to try and push his foe down onto his knees.
Jaune blinked up at Cardin as he easily held the armoured teen back. "What happens now?" he asked, wondering why they'd stopped.
"Tch…" Cardin pulled back and lashed out with one foot, catching Jaune off guard and tripping him. The mace came down atop his head, but he rolled away at the last second. "Fight me properly!" the burly teen yelled. "Stop playing around and fight me!"
"But I don't want to hurt you…" He didn't want to fight Cardin in general.
"RARGHHH!" Winchester screamed in fury and brought his mace up and over his head. It crashed down with enough force to rupture the arena itself, and carve a furrow into the mat. "Don't insult me."
"I'm not trying to…"
"Then attack me!"
Jaune bit his lip but decided not to argue. If Cardin wanted him to attack, then he should. Maybe it was just rude of him not to or something. Either way, Jaune nodded and gripped Crocea Mors in both hands. With a yell, he rushed forward and cut down atop his foe's head.
Cardin dodged the attack with ease. "Take me seriously!" he yelled.
But I am! Jaune sighed, trying again with a diagonal slash. It was caught on his opponent's weapon and diverted to the side so harshly that Jaune almost lost balance. A counter attack caught him in the stomach and launched him back.
"This isn't going well…"
"Thanks for the input, captain obvious… what am I supposed to do? Every attack I launch is countered with ease. I may be stronger than him but that means nothing against his skill." If only he could use his other abilities, the fight would have been a joke, but Miss Goodwitch watched them like a Nevermore, not to mention the rest of the class nearby.
"Fight me properly!" Cardin attacked once more, his attack easily caught on Jaune's sword, but his fist powering into the blonde's face. Jaune staggered back a little, even if it didn't really hurt. For some reason, that made Cardin angrier, and he lashed out again.
Jaune caught it on his forearm, wincing a little but otherwise ignoring it as he swung Crocea Mors in a wide arc. A silent curse escaped him as Cardin ducked under it, and the air was soon blown out of him as the head of the mace crashed into his stomach.
He could have caught Cardin's neck with a tentacle there.
His shoulder slammed against the mat, but he pushed himself up in time to catch Cardin's next strike on his shield. An instinctive desire to summon Grimm with his left hand would have brought the fight to a sudden halt.
But he couldn't do it in front of everyone.
Instead, he tried to cut at his opponent's face, only to gasp as Cardin dodged it by smashing his forehead into Jaune's nose. He reeled back, more disoriented than in pain – but wasn't prepared for the shoulder that rammed into his chest and knocked him from his feet.
The head of a mace rested before his face. "Surrender," Cardin panted, cheeks red and shoulders rising and falling. Was he tired? The fight had only been going on for a few minutes.
Still, it provided an acceptable chance to bow out. "Okay," Jaune nodded happily.
"The fight is over," Miss Goodwitch stepped forward. "Mr Arc… I must say I am surprised you fared so poorly… your performance in initiation was far stronger."
The rebuke stung, but he sighed and shook his head. "I couldn't exactly deal with him like I would a Grimm, could I?" he protested. He had to fight Cardin like a normal person, which meant that he couldn't use most of what he knew.
"A worthy sentiment," Miss Goodwitch wore a small smile. "However, in future I will have to ask you to give your all against your opponents. You do them no favours by holding back, even if it's out of a desire not to harm them. I understand that the Grimm are our true enemy, but we face human threats as well."
He wanted to argue on the true enemy part but decided against it. Instead, he felt a pang of frustration. He had tried his best against Cardin. His best just hadn't been good enough.
Cardin pushed forward so that his chest pressed against Jaune's. His eyes were narrowed. "I won," he said loudly.
"Yep."
"I don't care what anyone says," he shouted, "I won, fair and square. I'm better than you!"
"Sure."
"I AM!"
"You are," Jaune agreed warily. Sheesh, what's his problem? I'm agreeing with him. Cardin's chest rose and fell, face red and eyes bloodshot. Jaune wracked his mind for something he could say to diffuse it. "Remy, ideas?"
"I don't know," the parasite mumbled, "Try something that would work on your team. They're humans too, right?"
Ah, that was a good idea, but who-? Jaune's mind flicked back to Ruby at the breakfast table and he nodded. "You beat me," he repeated to Cardin. "Well done."
Jaune smiled.
"Would you like a cookie?"
/-/
Pyrrha felt more relieved than she cared to admit, finally being back in their dorm. The Whirlpool room had, in a single day, changed from a tense environment to a peaceful refuge. Weiss and Ruby sat at the desks on one end, the latter avidly listening as Weiss went over some lesson Ruby wouldn't have heard being two years younger than them.
Ruby's brow creased as she asked a question, and Weiss nodded and pointed to a textbook as she answered.
They got along so well… yet again, she couldn't help but feel proud of her partner, but also a little ashamed of how she might have been a part of preventing this from happening. It doesn't matter, she told herself. It's over now. We're a real team; a good team.
She sighed. It felt like her team was the only thing going well at the moment.
Combat class had been a disaster. It hadn't been Jaune's fight, even if it ended with Winchester basically trying to punch her teammate in the face. Rather, the problems had come when she had been called up to face off against Russell Thrust.
She'd meant to pace herself… to hold back and not stand out – and she had.
She still beat him in a matter of seconds.
I didn't mean to. I didn't think that would take him down, or at least I thought he'd last longer… Maybe she'd overestimated him, but she doubted it.
Chances were, she'd underestimated herself… again.
Invincible girl, Pyrrha Nikos, unbeaten champion… the whispers started up the moment she knocked him down, eyes wide and mouth open in shock and a little distress. It hadn't taken long for them to spread, and by now there wasn't a single person unaware of her fame, position and reputation. Even attempting to help her defeated foe up backfired, for he clearly felt humiliated and ignored her entirely.
That hurt.
This was supposed to be different… Beacon was a chance to be seen as something other than the invincible girl – to make friends.
And she had, she reminded herself quickly. Her team was awesome, and honestly, she also found herself warming up to Team Ribbon as well, who had a mix of energetic and calm members, all of which focused more on Ruby and Jaune than they did her. Oh, they included and noticed her, but it was as just another member of the team. It was perfect. Now if only she could make the rest of the school think the same.
I wonder if I messed up in some way. I must have done something right to make my team treat me normally… did I do something different to everyone else? The only thing that came to mind was the fight, and honestly it was a pretty foregone conclusion. She faded away in lessons, she wasn't the best learner or most academic, so that was fine.
In the ring, however, she had no equal – and she'd foolishly let it show.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, however. Pyrrha's smile was hazy, but still there. Her team cheered and congratulated her, and it hadn't been with the same view to curry favour like others once had. Weiss nodded and commended her for earning a win for their team, while Ruby seemed more enthused with her weapons than the victory. Jaune had smiled and clapped a hand against her shoulder, which happened to be the exact same thing he'd done to Ren when he won his match.
It meant Jaune saw her as just another friend and didn't act differently around her. She was surprised to realise how good that felt.
Unbidden, her eyes drifted over to him. He sat on his bed, between Weiss and hers. He was cross legged atop the mattress, a book open on his lap and his eyes focused on the pages. He did say he liked to read a lot. I bet the Beacon library must be like a treasure trove to him. She smiled fondly at the thought of that, not to mention the image of his eyes sparkling as he looked at the huge shelves that seemed to reach up towards the ceiling. The thought made her giggle.
She couldn't forget his fight, though.
The patterns the plaster made on the ceiling merged together as her eyes narrowed. Jaune lost to Cardin in what should have been a decisive fashion… and yet it wasn't. Miss Goodwitch had seen it too, no doubt, hence the older woman's frustration. Well, hence Cardin's anger too.
Jaune shouldn't have lost that fight. He was strong, as shown by how easily he'd deflected the taller man's attacks, and more than that, his aura was through the roof! She could have schooled Cardin without difficulty but that would have been by overwhelming him with speed and skill. She was sturdy, but she very much doubted she could have taken a blow like Jaune did at the start and suffered no worse than a bruise.
There were moments too where his eyes narrowed and he seemed to move his body in a certain direction, only to panic and stop the action a second later. Each one led to an opening that Winchester punished, but it was still suspicious.
He's hiding something, Pyrrha thought, as she looked over at the blond, who at that very moment tilted his head and held the book up before him. When that didn't help, he turned it upside down and had another look. He sighed, the answer to whatever question crossed his mind having apparently eluded him. What do I know about him? He's strong… physically very strong if his performance was any indication, but I already knew that from how he took on the Nevermore and Deathstalker.
He was socially a little behind most people… but then that wasn't an insult. He knew it and admitted it, and the reasons why made perfect sense. He wasn't dumb or unintelligent, but rather certain terms and phrases they took for granted didn't click with him because there were so few people to use them. He was well read, however, and although he hadn't gone to a traditional school, there was no doubting his education.
And that was where the inconsistencies occurred.
His mother, who was apparently a very firm and intelligent woman, decided to train her son to be as smart as he could be, in the middle of contested territory. Why focus on that when the biggest threat were the Grimm? Why ignore fighting skills that might mean your survival?
The simple answer was that you didn't… and that she likely hadn't. Jaune could fight, his performance in initiation proved it. He was also confident in his skills, since his reaction to Grimm didn't involve fear in any way. In fact, he'd said he grew up in an area where Grimm were fairly common – so his mother had to have people who could fight them off under her employ.
If that's all true, though… then why does Jaune hide his skills? Why did he hold back and purposefully let Cardin beat him in that duel? It just didn't make sense. Sure, he'd managed to turn the crowd around so that the laughter was aimed at Cardin and not himself, but it still made him look weak.
Weak… unexceptional…
"I'm not anyone special or dangerous though, I'm just a normal person."
"Me too," she had said back, "I'm just a normal, ordinary girl."
No… could it be? She remembered the aftermath of her spar with Russell, the look on the crowd's faces.
"It's the invincible girl…"
"How is anyone supposed to beat her?"
"I'm not even going to try."
"Famous…"
"Dangerous."
"Not normal," she whispered in awe. She wasn't normal. She was exceptional and special, something to be watched and noted from a distance, while Jaune had secured his place as normal, unassuming and weak.
It all made sense.
He wasn't weak. He hadn't lost to Cardin… he'd let Cardin win in order to not draw attention to himself. How could she not have seen it? I thought he might be like me before but this proves it… except that instead of simply `saying` he didn't want to be famous, Jaune decided to `do` something about it.
She felt a rush of shame for that, for her ego and her inability to take the steps he had. He was braver than her. That was for sure. She admired him for that.
She… she admired him.
Her cheeks flushed. No, no, no, that wasn't possible… was it? She'd written off her chances of ever finding someone, but there'd been a tiny shred of hope that just wouldn't die. Now she had found someone who looked at her like she was normal, who clapped and congratulated for Pyrrha and not the champion. He was also sweet, kind and wise beyond his years. He fixed their team, he revealed her flaws without being cruel and he helped her improve and become a better teammate.
With dawning horror, Pyrrha felt her heart beat a little faster. I can't have a crush on him, she told herself. Ruby has feelings for him. My own partner! She looked to the girl in question, who sat at her desk still and read a thick tome with Weiss. Ruby trusted her implicitly, liked her – and Pyrrha liked her in return.
Could I really come between her and Jaune like that?
She didn't think so.
Can I ignore my feelings, though?
She wasn't sure.
Argh… why was life so complicated at times. She shook her head and looked back to him, only to freeze and choke on air.
His face wasn't even two inches away from hers. "Your face is red," he said. "What does that mean?"
Pyrrha was a championship fighter with reflexes others would kill for, but at that very moment had he been an enemy, she would have been defeated. It took a full three seconds for her bran to finally send the signals to the rest of her body, and when it did, she realised they were the wrong signals for she recoiled, cried out and pushed him away.
"Whoah!" Jaune cried as he disappeared over the edge of her bed in a mighty crash. Weiss and Ruby looked over, the former with an arch eyebrow that suggested their better be a good reason for the disturbance.
"I-I'm so sorry Jaune," Pyrrha gasped and crawled over to the bed's edge. She looked up from his startled form to Weiss and Ruby too. "Ignore me," she called, "I… uh… I was distracted and freaked out. Sorry!"
Weiss and Ruby continued to look for a few seconds, but seemed content to believe her when nothing else happened. Jaune rubbed his head and climbed back up to look at her.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, cheeks flushed. "I didn't mean to do that. You just caught me by surprise."
"My fault, then," he groaned. "Sorry, Pyrrha… I just… I got excited about something."
Okay, that was fine. She took a deep breath and fought to bring her emotions back under control. "It's fine," she smiled. "Sorry about pushing you Jaune. Um… what was it you were trying to ask?"
He blinked and seemed confused for a moment, but recollection soon dawned. "Oh yeah," he cheered, "I saw your face all red and decided to ask what it meant. I've been trying to figure it out from this," he held up his book, which had the title `Understanding Social Cues`. "I've not had much luck, though."
"Luck on red faces? Do you mean when a person blushes?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "I know what it means, obviously. It's just… there's this person who keeps doing it around me," he confided, voice low. "I don't really understand why though. I guess I just got excited when I saw you blushing and wanted to know why. See if it was the same thing, you know?"
Oh, that was all… perfectly normal. At least it would have been, were it not for the fact she'd been blushing over the thought of him – and oh dear, her cheeks were warming up again.
"Yeah, like that!"
"I-It can mean many things," she coughed, "Embarrassment, usually. I'm embarrassed because I pushed you off the bed, so my cheeks are red." Not a complete lie, but maybe half of one. "Is that what you wanted to know?"
"No, I…" he sighed. "I'm not explaining myself very well, am I? I know what it means to blush, and trust me – I know what it means to be embarrassed. It's pretty much a permanent state of being back home."
Pyrrha giggled at that.
"It's just that… like I said, there's someone who keeps getting red-faced around me and they act different to how everyone else does."
Pyrrha's heart froze. Had he noticed her not-so-subtle gazes? "Different, how?" she asked woodenly.
"Like, different to how they act to everyone else. It only seems to happen when I'm around and I've not seen them look at other people the same way."
Had she been so obvious? Surely he wouldn't have asked her if it was about her, but then again this was Jaune and he was about as blunt as Nora's hammer. She had to dig a little deeper, however. There was no use panicking now, after all. "Does sh- this person," she corrected herself. "Does this person act nervous around you?"
"Sometimes," he nodded. "I mean, they always act different around me but there definitely are moments where they look like they're about to bolt."
"Do they only blush when you're around?"
"I guess... it's hard to say on that one. Whenever I'm around, they're usually blushing, though. I'm not sure what they do when I'm not around."
Pyrrha swallowed. "Do they often seek to grab your attention?" Pyrrha asked.
"Gods yes, like all the time!"
"Then… it would seem to me that they have a crush on you," she said, eyes averted from his.
Jaune stared blankly back at her.
"That they have romantic feelings for you."
That got a reaction, if the way he recoiled was any indication.
It also burned a hole in her heart. Oh… that was certainly an adverse response. Now, she really hoped it wasn't her feelings he'd caught onto. But what if it's Ruby's? What if he looks disgusted at the thought of `her` having feelings for him?
A selfish part of her said she should be happy at the thought, that it would mean no guilt for her to be attracted to him.
She didn't, though.
She felt sick to her stomach.
Ruby was her best friend, her partner and teammate – and the thought of Jaune being horrified at her feelings for him was enough to cause Pyrrha personal pain. She didn't want to see Ruby turned down, nor cast aside or rejected by her crush. "It's nothing bad," Pyrrha said, "I mean, it might just be a schoolyard crus- romance. It doesn't have to be serious."
"I kind of think it does," Jaune whispered. "I… I know I don't have the most knowledge on people and stuff but mom and dad are always really serious together. Even if they're… in competition in business… they can put that aside for one another. Love is a big deal, especially if it moves to marriage."
Marriage? Whoah, he was moving a little fast there, wasn't he? Oh gosh, what if he did mean her? She only thought he might mean Ruby, but there was a chance he'd noticed her candid glances. Which would she prefer – Ruby to have a broken heart or herself?
A silly question; she wanted neither!
"What should I do?" he asked her – her of all people. "If… if I think someone has a `crush` on me and I don't agree. Pyrrha, I've got no idea, you have to help me."
"Could you not… is it not possible to return those feelings?"
He shook his head, face deadly serious. "I don't think so… no, I know so. I just… I don't feel that way."
Ouch…
"Then you have to be honest with them," Pyrrha said, even if the words broke her heart. "If it were me," she added, "If I had those feelings for you and you wanted to let me down… I'd want you to be honest with me."
"You would?" Jaune asked. "You're sure? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."
Heh… he was sweet and kind. Maybe, in a way, she hoped it was about her and not Ruby. She could deal with the pain, after all… she was used to it. "I'd want you to tell me," Pyrrha said. "It would only hurt me the longer it waited."
"So, immediately?" he asked. "Right now?"
"N-Not right now," Pyrrha gasped, suddenly imagining him turning her down in front of Weiss and Ruby. She didn't want that kind of scene to happen in front of them. "Um… maybe tomorrow… let m- this person sleep on it for a while."
Jaune looked like he was considering her suggestion, but to her relief he nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thanks Pyrrha, you're a lifesaver."
She certainly hoped so…
"And done!" Ruby cheered and slammed the book shut. "We're done, right Weiss?"
"We are," the heiress nodded and yawned into her hand. "You were as good as your word, Ruby. You worked hard. Well done."
The younger girl giggled and looked inordinately proud of the praise. "I've got to be," she said. "I've got a lot of catching up to do to be on the same level as you guys. So, I can go to Yang's room, then?"
The white-haired girl smiled and waved one hand. "Have fun," she said. "I'm going to read a little before bed."
"Yes!" Ruby leapt up from the seat, all too energetic to remain sitting. She covered the distance between the desk and the two of them in a fraction of a second. It was with horror that Pyrrha noticed Ruby's eyes flicker to Jaune's neck, and then her cheeks darken.
Please don't let it be her, Pyrrha begged. Let him turn me down instead.
"Hey Jaune… you ready to come and play video games?"
"Sure," Jaune nodded and rose from Pyrrha's bed with a smile. He placed his book down on the bed side table, but paused. "Oh… actually I had something I needed to grab. Can I meet you there?"
/-/
Far away, Velvet Scarlatina kicked her heels against her mattress, legs over the edge and feet bare as she looked down between her toes and contemplated the day. Fox and Yatsu were out training, or as Coco often teased; practising their homo-erotic displays. The leader in question was over by her own bed, polishing some of her belt buckles. She hummed a catchy tune to herself, lifting each one to her eyes and only nodding when she was satisfied she could see her face in them.
Velvet wished she had something that could distract her so. Instead, she fell back onto her bed with an explosive sigh. What a day… first, there'd been when she tripped in Oobleck's class, but what took the carrot cake had to be when that first-year team cornered her in the cafeteria. An upper year, bullied by freshmen… how pathetic. She tried to tell herself she could have taken them but it didn't really help.
She could have, but she wouldn't have… she was too nervous; so unlike her team leader who she looked up to so.
And if it wasn't for Jaune Arc…
Velvet's eyes drifted shut as she recalled the sight of him, stood above her with eyes that looked down without hate, without disgust or even curiosity. He'd looked at her with nothing but friendly cheer. Maybe it was silly, maybe she was being dramatic, but at that time he'd looked like the main character from one of her childhood cartoons.
The hero, that was.
And then she'd gone and made an absolute fool of herself trying to talk to him and he thought she hated him or something. Argh, what a nightmare. Velvet smothered her pillow over her face and screamed into it, legs kicking furiously.
When she brought it down, it was to see Coco staring at her with wide eyes. "Bunny… you know I love you, but what the hell?"
"E-Eh," Velvet stammered, cheeks red and pillow pulled up so that only her eyes peeked over the top. "Um… mental breakdown?" she attempted. "S-Sorry Coco, just ignore me… I've had a weird day."
"Looks like it," the other girl laughed. "I think if Yatsu saw you look so bothered, he'd be terrified. Is there anything you need me to help with? You know I will."
Beautiful joy suffused her; enough so that she smiled into her pillow. "I know you would," she said, and it was true. Her team would cross any mountain for her – as she would for them. "It's nothing, though," she added, "I just… kind of made a fool of myself in front of someone."
"Oh?" Coco made an arch expression. "Someone interesting?"
"You could say that," Velvet smiled but said no more. Eventually, her friend went back to polishing her buckles with a shake of her head.
Velvet, in turn, continued to stare down at herself.
"Hey Coco…"
"Yeah, bunny?"
"Do you think my knees are pretty?"
"What…?"
Oh Jaune, making them impacts, even if you know it not.
We get to see Jaune in a fight here, and as you may notice, there are issues he faces. Jaune is, for lack of a better term, overpowered. However, he's limited to being unable to use most of that in a normal spar against someone. I know a few people have pointed out how stupid it is that he doesn't know how to use a sword, but I'd like to argue against that… he's mastered the usage of several fighting styles more suited to him.
Is it so surprising that on top of all of that, he hasn't managed to learn another? Liken it to Ruby with her scythe if you want. She can snipe and fight with it well enough, but was just about useless without it against Roman.
Oh yeah, and Pyrrha has feelings for Jaune… hell, that still makes this fic have slower development to romantic interest than the show xD Mainly, since he pretty much hasn't done anything different to Pyrrha and has treat her the same as canon Jaune did, I figured it just made sense to let it happen as it did in the show.
And yes, it cuts off before Jaune's debut in Team Ribbon's dorm... honestly, this could go on and on but I need to stop it somewhere for the chapter. Heck, were I smart, I'd have done so around the 6-7k mark and saved the rest as being half of next week's chapter already completed.
Next Chapter: 15th March
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur