Bloody Arc

by Kharneth666

The typical Gamer story has a character suddenly become an RPG character. Their body becomes defined by stats, quests and the vaunted Gamer's Mind. This is not one of those stories. Tonight, Jaune Arc joins the Hunt.

11. Birds Bark Like Beaten Dogs

Chapter 11: Birds Bark Like Beaten Dogs

XXXX Spring M1 W2 D5, 83 AVA XXXX

The first week of classes had passed rather swiftly, though not for lack of content. In addition to their classes, there were also some optional, though so recommended they were borderline mandatory, self-study courses such as mathematics and sciences, business, etc. It had been decided that if a student were to choose another line of work, Beacon Academy was willing to provide a well-rounded education to point in the right direction. Thankfully for Jaune, as he had experienced the mind-numbing experience known as high school, he had been able to opt out because he had already gone through with it.

As it was, they had a good routine formulated as the week progressed. Theoretical classes, such as History, were on alternating days with those with more practical aspects, such as Dust Application. This wasn't set in stone as seminars, guest lectures, and day trips would be announced and planned in the future.

Much to Jaune's and everyone's delight, there was little to no homework given their more martially inclined career path, with the exception of a few readings and essays. Whatever they did get was at this point simple enough to finish in their free periods, with plenty of time to use their other free time for training, sparring, or really whatever they wanted so long as they were on time for classes. They had almost been late on the first day, getting a bit carried away with their morning exercise, which lead to a team vote to limit morning PT.

They were together almost all day, being in the same classes thus far with the rest of their year, with an exception being advanced electives each had selected to further augment their strengths and cover their weaknesses, or even to expand their skill sets. For instance, Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake had both selected Healing as one of their electives. As another example, Weiss and Nora had gone with Advanced Dust Applications, though for differing reasons.

Weiss felt almost obligated for it due to her family business and a need to understand the substance and its myriad forms as much as possible. Nora, on the other hand, was more pragmatic and forthright in her reasoning, which was to, in her words, "Make more pretty explosions! Overkill shall be my bitch!" In contrast to her reluctance for other academics, this was one subject she was avid in.

After dinner, they mostly turned to various hobbies and past-times until it was time to sleep, before waking the next day to start all over again.

One minor complaint Jaune had overall thus far was the dress code. It wasn't bad per se, and they were made from good-quality materials, but it felt off for him to wear something so cookie-cutter. For males, the Beacon Academy uniform consisted of black suits lined with gold, accompanied by a blue vest, a white shirt, and a red tie. The females wore a red plaid skirt, a black jacket lined with gold, a brown vest, and a white shirt with a red ribbon tied at the collar.

Thankfully, in the spirit of individuality, students were able to customize their uniform to an extent, and several members of their troupe capitalized on that option. On team RWBY, Ruby wore her ever-present red hood as well as her boots, instead of the provided brown dress shoes. Weiss had her tiara, and Blake wore her black bow. Ironically enough, Yang, the most free-spirited in personality of the quartet, chose not to alter anything.

On the JNPR half, only Ren wore the uniform as it was intended with no additions. Pyrrha was closest, only adding her bronze headpiece to hold her hair back. Nora, instead of the black leggings or knee-high socks, wore white ankle socks and her sneakers, as well as pink fingerless gloves. Jaune's attire deviated the most. He wore his usual boots, as well as the two belts on his right leg to hold Iosefka in its torch form. In addition, his hat and scarf, in its casual wrap with the two ends trailing to his mid-back, were also worn, as well as black fingerless gloves with the rectangular metal plate on the back.

Then again, the relatively short skirts showed off the girls' lovely legs, not that he stared, of course. He was raised to be a gentleman, and he had just noticed it in passing, is all.

But the biggest disappointment in the uniform to him was that it offered little support to carrying weapons. That, and it would be very uncomfortable to sit for hours on end with them digging into his back. Choosing practicality over his desire to be as armed as possible at all times, he made do with his dagger strapped onto his leg.

Unfortunately, most of his new companions were unable to do the same with the size and shape of their weapons in any form. Ren could slide his under his sleeves, and Yang wore them as a fashion choice in the form of thick bracelets, but the others had to leave them in their lockers until combat class, which would not be for about another seven hours.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Speaking of misfortune…' Jaune thought as he entered the lecture hall hosting the Grimm Studies course, or as it should be known, Story Time with Professor Port. It started off as expected, with him talking about a specific species of Grimm, only to inevitably drift on a tangent to some time in his past that he had encountered said beast.

Normally, that should have been fine. He had long ago learned the valued art of gleaning nuggets of useful info from long-winded blowhards. The trick was to stare blankly into space in their general direction until they stopped talking, and worthless dribble sort of became background noise. Sort of like, "Blah blah blah blah important detail, blah blah blah should definitely know this, blah blah blah." It was how he got through most of school, after all, as it had the side effect of making the clock seem like it was ticking faster just for him.

But somehow, the man's voice somehow pierced through his meditative state by being paradoxically both a boring monotone and boisterous simultaneously, forcing all who listened to him both wishing to go to sleep, but denying them the ability to. It was pure torture listening to how he wrestled a boarbatusk barehanded and gutted it with its own tusk.

If anyone else had told that story, it would have been worthy of awe and respect. But the portly man, no pun intended, somehow made even that sound mind-numbingly humdrum. Maybe it was the massive moustache covering his mouth? Jaune didn't know, and could not muster enough energy in a classroom to give a fuck. 'And I thought Dad was bad with his habit of going on tangents. Maybe he picked it up this guy?'

In fact, almost no one else could. If he spared the effort to look around, Jaune would see the same hypnotic, apathetic gaze from even the most scholarly among them. From those less inclined to academics, their heads would droop a bit, and then an unexpected accentuation would bring them back from the brink of escaping into slumber.

The only one who escaped this that he could see were Ruby, who was in the front row currently doodling in the disguise of taking notes, and her partner, who was sitting next to her and glaring at her for either not suffering like the rest of them, or for finding an able method to pass the time and being jealous for not having thought of it first. 'The second one might be projection. Eh, fuck it. Maybe she doesn't like the doodles?'

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Jaune paused, eyes widening slightly in intrigue. The air had changed from his last visit in the room, and it now held a familiar scent of decay.

The burgundy-clad orator seemed to be drawing to a close, clearing his throat. "In the end, it was no match for my sheer tenacity." He paused to take a breath, refocusing his audience's attention now that the story had ended, "Now, seeing as how it is your first week here, I thought I would add something special to, shall we say, kick off the weekend for you youngsters. If I could-"

Jaune, seeing where he was going with this, stood up quickly, bringing the other students out of their sober stupor as his chair screeched against the floor.

"-have a volunteer, and it seems that I already do. Come on down, my boy. Your go-to spirit and youthful enthusiasm reminds me of the time when I…"

He rambled something or another about another misadventure in his youth as he easily dragged out a large, covered box with a thick chain, something that strangely had escaped everyone's notice, behind his desk while Jaune walked down the aisle from the back of the room, leaving his hat behind to rest on his desk. Jaune was now too excited to care. It had been a long week, but now he finally had a chance to have some fun. No middle-aged looking man recounting his youth would ruin this moment for him. As he approached, the linen-clad box jostled on its own volition for having been disturbed, small grunts barely audible beneath the thick cloth.

"With all due respect, Professor, I think our guest of honor is feeling a bit left out. Might we let it say hello?" Jaune asked, politely interrupting the man who nodded, though his eyebrows ruffled just a tad.

"Ah, yes, how rude of me. Now class, feast your eyes on your mighty prey, the Boarbatusk!" With a dramatic flourish, he removed the cloth covering the shaking box to unveil a sturdy cage containing said beast, its squeals now much louder having so many of its enemy in sight, yet unable to escape and kill them. It then started to bash on the cage even harder, but to no avail.

The beast was easily C-class, judging by its size and the markings on both its elongated fangs and tusks. Though why it had four eyes, no one was for sure. It was theorized that it helped prevent tunnel vision in its most memorable and distinctive attack.

The elder man retrieved his weapon, a blunderbuss/battle-axe from its stand on the wall. "We can wait for a few minutes for you to prepare for this bout, both in attire and armaments."

Jaune waived the offer. "It's just one little piggy. And besides…" He pulled out his dagger with his left hand, holding it in a reverse grip, "I'm never unarmed if I can help it."

Behind him, the Hunter could hear the cheers of his team and team RWBY, and smiled fondly from to their encouragement.

"Ah ha, a wise policy! Well then young man, let the match begin!" Port smashed an axe blade against the padlock, opening the cage and leaving the Grimm free to escape and do battle. Such was its purpose, and it wasted no time in charging him, the closest being in its line of sight.

The ground level of the room had plenty of space for fighting. Jaune sidestepped to the right and drove Yharnam into it as it passed, but it found no purchase as it bounced off of a spot of bone armor on its flank.

Stopping its charge, the beast turned, its hooves skidding on the stone tile.

"Hah ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you? The hide of this species is quite tough, and only becomes harder to pierce with age." Port exclaimed in his default boisterous tone, but he paid it no mind as he stared into the two pairs of solid crimson.

"Go Jaune!" Ruby cheered, followed by a "Woo!" from Nora in the back, waving a little JNPR flag.

"Quiet Ruby, you'll distract him!" Weiss admonished only her partner with a harsh tone, ironically distracting him more. A quick glance showed that the little reaper looked slightly sad and guilty, who murmured, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Ruby. I love an adoring audience." He consoled the girl briefly before bringing his attention back to the Grimm, who took advantage of his brief distraction and charged again. Deciding that his dagger would be relatively ineffective against its thick hide while mobile, he put it back in its sheathe.

Once directly in front of him, the boar swung its neck to gore him with its tusks. It would be disappointed, if it could feel such a thing, as Jaune grabbed both of them, locking them in a contest of strength. After a few brief moments, Jaune lost as his far bulkier opponent was pushing him towards a wooden panel. About ten feet from said wall, Jaune let go and rolled to the side, leaving the Grimm to crash into the wall head first, jamming its tusks into the wood.

"EEK!" Another student shrieked in surprise, as the tips of the tusks came within inches of her shins.

Jaune caught up to the trapped boarbatusk that was squealing in rage as it attempted to rip itself free. Pulling out Yharnam, he thrust it straight down into its lower left eye; manifested blood squirting onto the wood, coating his hand, and contrasting brilliantly against its bone mask. Due to the angle, it did not kill the beast, and that was good. Jaune wanted more.

The added pain seemed to augment its strength as it ripped the panel asunder, its head colliding with Jaune's midsection like a gut punch, knocking him back a few feet. Turning around, the boarbatusk jumped up, knife still lodged in its head, tucked in on itself, spinning in place for a moment as it landed before launching straight at him at triple its running speed. Suddenly, it began to veer the left, missing its target by a wide margin as it crashed into a wall, leaving it stunned momentarily as it lay on its side.

Quickly following it, Jaune stepped on one of its tusk to pin its head to the ground before kneeling and reaching for his knife. But it had faked being stunned, and shifted its body enough for him to lose balance for a moment. In that instant, needle-sharp teeth in its canine-like mouth sank deep into his ankle through his boots.

"Aah!" He yelled from a combination of unexpected pain, however minor, and the anger that sprouted from it. Grabbing the dagger, he pulled it out of its impromptu sheath and made a new one in its upper left eye and twisted in revenge for the bite. Upon the new injury, its mouth opened, releasing his leg.

"That fucking hurt, you little shit! Let's see how you like this!" Readjusting his footing to put less weight on the injury, he pulled out Iosefka. Flicking a small switch, the brand ignited like a flare right before Jaune jabbed it on its exposed belly. Grimm fur ignited, and the resulting blaze rapidly spread to cover the pinned monster in flame. All the while, the vermin bucked and squealed in what Jaune imagined and hoped to be agony. He still wasn't sure if Grimm could feel pain, but that would never stop him from trying to find out. In this case, the restrained Boarbatusk was presenting a valid argument for an affirmative.

"Damn it, you don't smell like bacon at all. How disappointing." He commented to the squirming Boarbatusk loud enough for his audience.

Even aflame, the beast still wasn't dead, thrashing to get loose but finding no leverage in its current position. Coming up with an idea, he stood up, left foot still on one tusk as he grasped the other in both hands. He groaned under his breath as his muscles, forearms now covered in a thick red aura, strained with effort. After a few seconds, he was rewarded with a sharp crack as the tusk in his grip began to splinter, bend and then finally break, leaving only a rough stub jutting out about six inches from the boar's head.

Adding a final taunt with a dark smile and humor, "Come on, you mockery of bacon, I wanna hear you squeal some more!" before clubbing it in the head a few times to briefly concuss the Grimm before the finale.

Flipping the tusk around to have the point facing down and towards the protrusion's former owner, Jaune fed the tip into its chest, lifting the whole hog above him as the tusk kept going further in until the tip came out the other side through its neck. Its short stubby legs thrashed as it was slowly impaled on its own body part, until the tip burst out over the head of the now deceased Grimm, who to the Hunter's joy did squeal for a moment before it died, leaving a pool of 'blood' under it as it dissipated. 'Music to my ears.'

Ripping his knife out with a gratifying twist from the vanishing carcass, he stood up tall and stretched his back as he took a few deep breaths, feeling the familiar rush after a kill as he inhaled with his eyes closed to savor the moment, and expelling a fair amount of the built up stress as he exhaled before bowing to his audience and turning to Port.

"One spit-roast Grimm to order, Professor." He quipped.

The lecture hall was quiet only for a brief time. The instructor broke the silence with his applause.

"Bravo! Truly, a splendid display of showmanship, Mister Arc, and a shame it is indeed we cannot consume the bounty of our hunt in the literal sense of the word." The professor joined in on the joke, chuckling heartily. The combination of Port calling a student by their name, or at all, for the first time in class, and the ringing of the dismissal bell signaling the end of class snapped the other students out of their collective state of mind and headed out to do whatever others did with their free period before History, giving Jaune a wide berth as he walked back to his seat with a light limp, giving him side glances as they passed.

Looking down to see what one guy was gawking at, he noticed a couple of red boot prints on the floor. "Ah, dammit. Apologies for the mess, Professor." Team RWBY followed after Weiss, who was almost stomping her feet as she left in a stormy mood. His own team, on the other hand, was still there, with Pyrrha handing him his hat and satchel to carry his notes.

Port spoke up, "No need to apologize. This is not the first mess in this class, and it certainly will not be the last. Now, off you go!" He politely dismissed them as he went to a storage closet to fix the lecture hall himself.

As they left, Pyrrha spoke up, "Umm, Jaune? You got a little on your-" She pointing at her own face to show where the mess was, ignoring the temporarily soaked uniform.

"Oh, how embarrassing. Thank you." He cleaned both his face and his bloodied boot with a kerchief stored in a pocket. No need to make an even bigger mess, and he was pretty sure 'blood' wasn't an acceptable accessory in the dress code.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was so awesome, Jauney!" Nora praised his display again as they walked around. "So did it smell like bacon when you fried it?

"And for the fifth time, thank you." Cutting her off before she began recounting his feat yet again, embellishing it further each time. He wasn't annoyed by her tale of his actions. "Unfortunately, no it did not. Just the same blend of rot and sweet with a hint of mold as always. Each kind that I've met have their own slight difference, but it's hard to describe."

"Well, you seem happy at least." Ren commented on the visible improvement of Jaune's mood, having noticed how stiff and almost listless his teammate had been over the course of the week.

"Oh, I am. Like I said, there's almost nothing like a good fight to get the blood pumping. Let's hope my good luck carries on for the rest of the day." This was the first time he'd gotten any form of combat since their sparring. For four days, he missed out on being called upon to spar in Goodwitch's class. Monday and Tuesday, he could see because he had a broken leg the day before and she wanted him to have a full recovery.

Wednesday might have just been a case of bad luck due to random selection, and he wasn't the only one. Pyrrha didn't get to fight until Thursday. Everyone on the first year level had gone at least once, and Jaune was slightly envious of Winchester for lucking out twice, much as he hated to feel anything of the sort for that racist cunt. If he didn't get a match today, he'd speak to Goodwitch after class to at least ask why.

He would have settled for a little hand to hand on their patio, but she had not sent her permission form yet.

"I'm sure she'll let you go today." Pyrrha reassured her partner/leader, confident that he'll get his chance.

But for now, he'd enjoy the good vibes while they lasted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Those lasted right up until he sat down for History class. They cut it a little closer than usual, so they weren't all sitting together as usual. That wouldn't be a problem, except Jaune had to take the last seat available, which was in the front row, in close vicinity to the human dervish that rushed through the door as the bell rang.

Doctor Oobleck looked to be his usual unkempt attire; chugging coffee out of his near bottomless thermos like it was the last of that grind juice in the world.

Jaune couldn't even try to sleep due to the foul aroma of Oobleck's brew this close in proximity. That, and the historian rushed around the room like someone kept pressing fast forward on him as he spoke about the Faunus Rights Revolution. As the students had been trained to be alert for and react to high-speed objects, such as bullets or attacking Grimm, his tactic was very effective to keep students attentive for the most part.

History class seemed to be a change of pace for Jaune. From his past experience, it was usually taught from past to present. Instead, Oobleck appeared to be literally reversing that trend, going from contemporary events to ancient.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war? Yes?"

Weiss must have raised her hand first, because she answered in her know-it-all tone, "The Battle of Fort Castle."

"Precisely, Excellent. And who can tell me what advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?" He also had a strange habit of accentuating random words like they were the discussing the deepest secrets of the world.

Around that time, Jaune felt a familiar, helpful itch from Eye. On reflex, he reached behind him and swatted a thick piece of paper folded into a small triangle with his right hand as one would a fly, as his left was busy holding up his lazy head, not in the mood to sit up straight for the moment.

Oobleck, however, interpreted the motion as him raising his hand. The green-haired man dashed towards him, leaning in a bit and taking another sip. The smell was even more potent this close to his nose. "Mister Arc! Finally contributing to class, excellent! What is the answer?"

"Night vision." Jaune answered, rubbing in between his eyes to clear out the last remnant of boredom-induced lethargy from sitting in a classroom. "General Goon thought that it was a brilliant idea to attack them at night. So he and his forces left his fort, abandoning his one and only advantage because he thought he could easily rout a force twice his size because his enemy was primarily composed of Faunus. He was beaten so badly, I almost have to wonder how he became a general in the first place."

"It's General Lagoon, Mister Arc, but points to you for pointing out the moniker he acquired after the battle, if you elaborate on your almost." Oobleck corrected him.

"He was one of the highest ranking members of the Golden Eagles due to climbing the ladder during the war, and I'm sorry, but I must correct you, Doctor. He didn't get it from the battle, although it didn't hurt. He earned the name General Goon after because though he was shown mercy, he was a sore loser. After the war officially ended, and the pacifistic White Fang was founded, he staunchly opposed said group and was one of the primary influences for what most of his own order is now."

Looking back to Cardin Winchester, a member of said of organization. "A bunch of moronic thugs who cower behind those with authority, their order's history, and a banner of false righteousness. There are those who call the White Fang as it is now a Faunus version of the Golden Eagles, or vice versa depending."

"It's not the general's fault it's easier to train an animal than it is a real soldier." Cardin gritted his teeth at the insults.

At this point, Blake jumped in, "And perhaps if the general paid attention in class, he wouldn't have made such a critical error and be regarded as a joke. If he thought of Faunus as animals, then his 'real soldiers' got beaten by 'animals', and that doesn't say much about his leadership skills." She spoke with passion, enough to put a smile on Jaune's face, and was no longer bored.

Before it could go out of hand, Oobleck began speaking again. "All right, settle down. While I do encourage debate in this class, we must move on. Mister Winchester, don't think I didn't see your stunt. You can stay behind after class for extra readings. You too, Mister Arc."

'Worth it.' For the rest of the class, Jaune could feel the glare aimed at his direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

'At least it wasn't too bad.' Jaune thought as he left with his assignment in mind, a four-page on the founding of the order he had insulted. It was simple because he already knew. On the other hand, Cardin had to do an essay on one Monty Arc. The expression that he had looked like he sucked on a lemon, and it was simply priceless.

"So, how bad is it?" Pyrrha asked, as she had waited for Jaune outside the room. Nora and Ren had obviously gone ahead to lunch.

"A bit annoying, but nothing I can't crack in a few hours. Still gonna be tedious."

Walking at a sedate pace, chatting about their week thus far, they set off to join their other half and joint team for their midday meal. On the way, other students they passed glanced or stared at them as they passed, and whispered when they thought the two couldn't hear them.

This wasn't unusual, what with Pyrrha's reputation and the impression that Jaune had made on their first night here. However, the tone of said attention had changed. A couple across the courtyard was actually blatantly pointing at the two, or maybe one of them but he wasn't sure, looking back and forth from their scrolls. He couldn't hear their whispers as they were too far away. There was less positive curiosity, and more mistrust in its place.

'And is that… pity?' He growled at the thought.

He wasn't the only one of them that had noticed the tone shift in the 'crowd'. "What are they talking about, Jaune?" She asked, as curious about the situation as he was, knowing he had a much better chance hearing them than she did.

"No idea. Bah, it's probably nothing. Let's go eat lunch, I'm feeling famished." He shrugged off their stares.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was wrong. Even in the cafeteria, there were those who were doing the same thing, trying to be subtle as they eat their own meals.

Joining the rest of their band, Yang was watching something on her scroll with some concern.

"Hey, what're you watching?" Jaune asked the blonde, who hadn't noticed that their group of eight was now full.

"Huh? Oh, uh Jaune? You might want to see this." She sent a link to their scrolls to watch. It was a video that had been posted on Beacon's website within the last hour, titled 'Psycho on Campus'.

Pressing play, it was a video of a familiar scene.

"Oh, someone recorded me? I should go thank them, after demanding royalties." He chuckles softly until he gets to the part when he got bitten. "Man, that was just careless of me."

"That's not the problem. Read the comments."

Scrolling down, the light smile from watching his kill slowly dropped into a frown.

'Kind of satisfying to see a Grimm bleed, for a change'

'Heard about it in Aura Studies yesterday. Prof. Matin called it

-manifestation-, it's an uncommon, temporary aftereffect of using aura or semblance.

'That's fucked up. How twisted do you have to be to get blood as an aftereffect of a semblance?'

'I know, right. Staying as far away I can from this psycho.'

'I saw him smile like a total creeper. must enjoy killing things.'

'That's not the ½ of it. This guy is PYRRHA F'ING NIKOS's partner and a team leader to boot. I pity them'

'What's Ozpin drinking in that mug of his these days? Must be some good shit.'

'Anyone else notice that he got hurt when the Bortusk? I was there, saw him bleed and limp a bit after.'

'Maybe something's wrong with his aura. Would explain all the scars I saw on him the night before Initiation.'

'WTF is a cripple doing in beacon? He's just gonna get himself and others killed'

'I think his last name is Arc, as in -Black Hammer- Hans Arc. Clear sign of nepotism as he's riding on his daddy's coat tails. Also, it's Boarbatusk.'

'Shut it, Grammar-Schnee!'

There were no names associated with the comments, leaving their origins anonymous. Most of them had similarly negative opinions.

He sighed, before laughing it off. "Whatever. If they haven't got the guts to say this to my face, then I'm not worried. At least some are positive."

'Guy's got balls of steel, going up against a pig mostly bare handed, and killing it with its own tusk? Badass.'

"That would be my contribution, actually. No need to thank me." Yang stated with a wink before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Giving him a look of concern, Ruby asked, "But they're calling you crazy, and worse. How are you okay with this bullying?"

"Because they're just Internet trolls, cowering in their anonymity. If this is the worst that they can do, there's nothing to worry about. I've heard and said far worse on gaming chat channels." He closed the matter by digging into his lunch, a plate full of chicken penne with a spicy marinara sauce. Ruby and Pyrrha shared a look, but said nothing. If he was going to leave it be, they would as well, for now.

To brighten the mood, Nora began telling a tale of an adventure she had with Ren. One boldly exaggerated, if his frequent corrections downplaying the picture she was painting were any sign.

"OW, that hurts!" Until a yell of pain from a couple of tables over ruined Nora's efforts, combined with a quartet of amused laughter.

'Oh great, these assholes again.' Over the week, team Cardinal (CRDL) had accrued a reputation as aggressive bullies, seeking to dominate their year level. To accomplish this goal, they targeted those who they viewed weak, Faunus, or both. This wasn't the first time they had gone after this girl, with Cardin pulling on the brown haired girl's long rabbit ears.

Jaune could swear that she looked familiar, but he couldn't place where they might have met before. The other three sat nearby, enjoying their leader's antics and egging him on.

"See, I told you they were real." Cardin explained to his cohorts, demonstrating his point with another rough tug.

"Man, what a freak!" The one with the blue-grey hair, Jaune didn't know or care about his name, commented.

"Please stop." The girl requested timidly with an accent. "Aah!" Another tug answered her with a refusal.

"Freaks like you don't belong here. You'll just go on to the White Fang like the rest of you vermin and go about massacring civilians to get your rocks off. This should teach you a lesson about your place minding your betters."

Tightly gripping his hand into a fist in frustration, leather gloves scrunching, Jaune spoke up with a calm, but condescending tone. "And what betters would that be, pigeon? You're just a brat who needs a flock of little birdies with him to corner a girl who doesn't fight back. You're training to be hunters, not back alley rapists."

At being challenged, Cardin finally let her go. The rabbit Faunus walked away, barely acknowledging Blake's query if she was all right.

"Bold words, Arc, but empty ones. And you're right, we're training to be real Huntsmen, not you, you cripple. I'll bet you that's why Goodwitch hasn't let you fight, because she doesn't want Beacon's charity basket case getting himself killed." Cue another laughter from his flock as they left before Jaune could retort.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like them. They shouldn't just get away with that." Pyrrha glared at CRDL as they walked away.

"He's not the only one." Blake added, prompting Yang's sad observation of "It must be hard to be a Faunus."

"Only because people like him make it so." Jaune concluded, before picking up his tray, food half eaten. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I seem to have lost my appetite. I'm getting started on Oobleck's extra essay." He walked off to the library to get some research done before Aura Studies class. Perhaps some reading accompanied with music would calm him down.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was difficult to focus through his black mood. He barely got anything done in the library, and so he came back after his third class of the day, Aura Theory, in better spirits. Professor Matin was his favorite teacher thus far with his wit. Then again, with Port and Oobleck's 'styles', that wasn't setting the bar all too high.

A light tap on the shoulder prompted him to lower the headphones that isolated him from the world around him. "Oh, hey Pyrrha, what's up?"

"I've got some news that might cheer you up."

"And what might that be?"

"I got Professor Goodwitch to get you on the combat roster for today." That got his undivided attention, closing the book with a sharp snap, though he hadn't been reading it since Pyrrha came up to him.

"Really? That's awesome, how'd you manage that?"

"I asked her why you haven't had a chance yet, and she told me that it was because you hadn't turned in her assignment."

He was confused. "What assignment? She hasn't given out homework yet, except for punishment."

"The one she gave us on Sunday." She explained.

"That was real?" He asked, still nonplussed. "I thought that she was joking."

"Apparently not. It was a good thing we co-authored our paper to be three pages over the minimum length. I'm sorry, but I must have forgotten to write in your name. I'm more used to individual projects, so it was a small slip, and she let us off with a warning." The redhead apologized for her error, bowing her head slightly.

"But we… oh. OH, you sneaky Spartan." Jaune grinned, quickly catching on to what she was really saying; that she had lied for his benefit to the stern witch.

Of course, she denied his praise with an innocent expression, but it crumbled into a sultry smile that looked oh so sexy that it made his mouth dry for a moment. If that wasn't enough, her voice betrayed her deception. "I have no idea what you're on about. She did ask me to tell that that in the future, please make sure you mark your work properly."

"Will do, Pyr." In his giddy mood, Jaune gave her a quick, tight hug in thanks. "Thanks, I owe you one." Before walking quickly to the arena.

She stood there stunned for a few seconds before following after him. 'It would be nice to have a proper match with him. That girl yesterday barely put up a fight.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was nearing the end of Combat class, and Goodwitch had yet to call upon Jaune to fight. Currently, they were watching an entertaining bout with Ruby running circles, literally, around a white-haired canine Faunus wielding dual axe-pistols that could merge into a two-handed, double sided battle axe shotgun. In either form, the bottom of the shafts bent for ease of firing when range was in play. The guy was playing a reactionary counterattack strategy, and got a few hits in when Ruby got too close, but eventually his aura shield level got chipped into the red when he shifted his weapon, taking a second to long for his stance to accommodate, leaving an opening for Ruby to exploit and claim victory.

"Mister Lupin, I would suggest practicing switching weapon modes for a smoother shift." After every match, Goodwitch would cut straight to the point and offer ways to improve. Jaune appreciated her straightforwardness.

"Miss Rose, while your implementation of your rifle's recoil is innovative, I recommend finding methods to be less reliant on it to conserve ammunition for when it is needed. Running out of bullets in the middle of a fight is not something I would endorse. It also creates a pattern for opponents to exploit."

"All right, we have time for one more match. Mister Arc, if you please." On cue, a couple of whispers started, their owners likely having seen the video.

"Do I have a volunteer?" Pyrrha raised her hand, but had to put it down with a sigh of disappointment since Goodwitch visibly ignored her. A few curious stares were sent her way, but nothing that lingered for long. 'It's likely for the best' Jaune mused, 'With idiots like those trolls around, they'll probably think she would be going easy on me, due to her reputation.'

No one stepped up. As the Combat Instructor had previously stipulated the she wouldn't pit teammates against one another, his cohorts could not volunteer, which is why she had nonverbally denied Pyrrha.

"No one? I would think some of you would be eager to improve yourselves in light of the upcoming tournament." Goodwitch didn't understand their visible hesitation and uncertainty.

Jaune volunteered context. "They know I can't form an aura shield, ma'am. Fought a Boarbatusk in Grimm Studies, it bit me, and someone posted a video about it."

"I see." She stated concisely. "Well, if no one wishes to step up…" For a moment, Jaune thought she would simply dismiss the class early. "Mister Lark, you will spar Mister Arc."

"What, me?" The teen spluttered in surprise

"Is there another Sky Lark I am unaware of in the room?" Her question spawned some giggling in the bleachers, Nora and Yang the worst offenders. Hearing and seeing one of the draftee's teammates shake with poorly hidden amusement, she pointed to him as well with her riding crop. "Mister Thrush, you as well. This will be a good opportunity to display a one on two match."

Regardless of any misgivings, the bird-themed students complied, running to the locker room. Jaune was already prepared, trusting in Pyrrha, and was dressed in his combat attire. His dagger returned to his back, but he had decided on a whim to try his most recently acquired weapon, Brador, the mace. While he waited, he gave a few practice swings to be accustomed to its weight, tossing it into the air and catching it again by the hilt. In addition, Achilles also rested on his upper back. He picked it out in case his opponent, or opponents in this case, proved to be a challenge.

"Are you sure about this, Professor Goodwitch? We don't want to hurt him too bad." The one with the Mohawk sounded more confident down on ground level, an arrogant smirk on his face, scraping his twin daggers together in some frivolous form of intimidation.

"I can assure you, Mister Arc has earned his place here, regardless of your opinion, just like everyone else." She gave the dissenter a stare of disapproval for questioning her before giving the three teens enough room for their match.

The one with blue grey hair must have thought that some pre-fight banter was in order. "Hey, cripple…"

Jaune said nothing, refusing to acknowledge that moniker, giving the boy a steely, unwavering scowl. He might have been inclined to salute the two before, but he was now disinclined to give such a sign of respect.

"Hey, we're talking to you!" Russell added, provoked by his silent staring.

"Are you now?" He asked calmly, maintaining his composure against such petty discourtesy.

"Yeah! If you ask nicely, we might just go easy on you. You've got enough scars." Sky added, sounding like he was offering to do Jaune a favor.

"I'm usually not one to give advice to an opponent, but I'll make an exception today, since I'm in such a good mood. I highly recommend, for your safety of course, to not be doing that."

"Ooh, what are you gonna do, bleed on me?" The armored teen asked mockingly. "Good thing half-breeds don't get rabies."

"No, no." Jaune answered with some amusement. "Quite the opposite, in fact, little birds." Before he could clarify, not that he was about to, Goodwitch started the match.

Thrush made the first move, prodded by the mockery of his name, and closed the distance to swing his weapons violently but with precision. Nevertheless, Jaune easily shifted his body to avoid each strike, slowly taking a few steps back as he did so, without retaliating to nonverbally state, "I'm not taking this seriously."

While they faced off, the halberd wielder circled around attempting to hit him from behind. Such a lack of coordination between the two disappointed Jaune, as their plan would have been more effective had they reversed their roles. In games, tanks wore more armor, not the rogues that flanked. Compared to Ren and Nora's teamwork, they might as well have been fighting each other than him.

At this point, he still continued to evade, having not even raised Brador out as of yet. Jaune evaded a thrust to the back from Lark without even looking, grabbed the shaft with his free hand just below the blade, and tugged to overextend the thrust to strike Thrush's chest, staggering him for a moment as Sky became off balanced.

Brador finally came into play as Jaune followed through with a twist and a backhanded swing that smashed into the unarmored segment of Lark's arm, drawing a small splash of 'blood' and separating hand and halberd.

"Fetch, boy!" Jaune shouted as he threw his acquisition like a javelin into the arena wall, embedding the blade into the stone, the shaft quivering from the impact.

With the Hunter's two opponents separated, he could now focus on the one with the daggers whilst the other scrambled to retrieve his metal stick like a dog. Crossed daggers blocked an overhand swing, but Thrush had underestimated his foe's strength, falsely thinking that his lack of shield also meant a lack of aura entirely, and forgetting his earlier feat of strength with the Grimm.

The defense was torn through like paper as the flanged mace collided with the top of the birdie's skull, bending him down with the blow and bringing him to his knees, splattering him and the floor with red.

He wasn't done, for as Lark's head was dipping down, Jaune brought his knee up to crash directly into his nose, knocking him back into standing up shakily. Dazed and half-blind from the 'blood' that cascaded over one of his eyes, it was all too easy for Jaune to swing Brador with two hands directly into Thrush's face, breaking both the boy's aura shield and his nose. He fell to the floor, clutching his nose with his hands muffling his scream from the pain.

"Can't say that I didn't warn you." Jaune taunted as he stepped on and over the beaten bird, and slowly walked to the other. 'May not be a good fight, but this is still fun in its own way.'

Sky was pulling as hard as could, but to no avail. The polearm was firmly wedged into the stone, even with putting his whole weight in his pull by pushing with both legs against the wall.

"So~, need a hand?" Lark had likely not heard him approach, and fell to the ground in surprise.

"Here, allow me." Feeling generous, Jaune ripped the halberd out with one hand, dropping it on top of the teen on the floor. "You're welcome, by the way." He said before walking away from the wall, stopping half way in between the two birds. He had already dismissed his contender as a threat, as the blond remained untouched thus far during the fight. 'Why did I even bother bringing Achilles?'

Lark appeared to have regained his confidence, though he still seemed a bit frayed. His dark grey-blue hair, once greased and slicked back, now had a few strands askew "I was just going easy on you before, but now you're gonna get it."

He just laughed in response, and pointed to Thrush, who was getting his nose reset by Goodwitch, and was out of the way. "I did warn you two not to. Well? Come on then, no one's getting any younger. Either attack me, or sing me a song, little birdie."

To his credit, Sky did adopt a more solid stance, no longer brash, as he had been before. His weapon was still a waste of metal, in Jaune's view, but it was better than nothing. With a loud bang, a shot fired from Lark's weapon, only to be deflected upwards by Jaune's mace with minimal effort. Two more shots fired out as he charged the blond, only to have the same effect, that being none.

His swings were of a decent swiftness, the metal chiming in the air, and the armored teen looked to be giving it his all. It wasn't enough. If it didn't miss entirely, then it was deftly parried. Jaune wasn't even breaking a sweat. He had a bored looked on his face, frustrating his adversary further. That frustration led to a mistake, as he hopped back before going for a telegraphed thrust, edges facing the sides for a wider hit box.

Repeating his feat at the beginning of the match, Jaune grabs the shaft, but this time he swings Brador down to Lark's hand. Attempting to avoid a possible broken hand, he slid his hand to avoid it. Completely focused on the mace not hitting his fingers, he didn't notice Jaune's instep before being side kicked in the gut, disarming him once again.

"Wow, you just cannot hold on to this, can you? Not the best habit in our line of work. Then again, neither would I." Pressing a button on Brador, it collapses in on itself, shifting into a hooked lantern to be re-attached his belt, murmuring thanks to Ruby for pointing that little detail out to him. The new shift also revealed the hidden gem of a Shock Dust crystal.

Jaune took his eyes off his now half-blind opponent, as manifested blood now cascaded over one of his eyes. As Lark tried rubbing it off to no avail, as the flow repeated his status, Jaune inspected the weapon, voicing his observations aloud.

"I mean, damn, what second-rate hack of a blacksmith made this trash? Or did you grab this from the bargain bin? The balance on this is terrible, and the blade's design is ceremonial at best. Tsk tsk, a waste of decent quality metal." 'Dad would be ashamed to even lay eyes on such an atrocity.'

"I suppose I'll have to teach you how to properly wield this garbage so that you're not a completeembarrassment. This is a place of learning, after all." He said wistfully, spinning it as he talked.

"All right, let's see if you can fly." Jaune taunted his opponent with a dark grin, and then proceeded to humiliate his opponent further by giving him tips on how to wield such a weapon with even a modicum of skill, with 'tips' being an apt choice of words.

He attacked him while spouting off fundamentals like he was a neophyte student, while the unarmed tried to dodge each strike. If Lark couldn't dodge, he tried to block with his armor. It still stung from the strength of the blows, but it did less damage to his aura shield, which was slowly being chipped away.

"Polearms are built with extra reach for a reason, you know." An extended thrust into the chest, clanging against his breastplate, briefly knocked the wind out of him. "So don't just hold it in the middle by default like a shitty action movie unless the fight call for it!" A low sweeping slash, which Lark jumped over, only for the blade to whip back for the offside spike to be yanked against the back of his knee. No 'blood' poured from the strike, but the force brought him to one knee.

"And finally…" Readjusting his grip, Jaune stepped in and smacked him in the temple with the pommel, knocking him to the ground. "There's more to a weapon than just the blade." Taking a quick break from the beating, a quick glance showed Lark's aura shield at 40%.

"It's not over yet, little bird. I see plenty more feathers to pluck. So, now with my helpful tips, do you want this back and try again? I might do so if you ask nicely." Jaune growled, throwing the boy's earlier taunt back in his face, or the back of his head, if he wanted to get technical, since the birdie was on his hands and knees, struggling to rise to his feet.

"Come on, get up! You were talking all that good shit a minute ago! Weren't you going to stop going easy on me?" Carelessly tossing the polearm over his shoulder with a huff, it bounced and clanged off the floor behind him. Jaune started pacing, waiting with a small shred of patience for the bloodied bird to stand and try again.

"You know, maybe a real weapon will help you out." Now it was Jaune that sounded like he was doing his opponent a favor as he pulled out Achilles and shifted it to its halberd form and locked it before tossing it over to a bewildered Sky, who managed to catch it and stare at it with wariness, as if it was a wild animal.

"Come on now!" Jaune grabbed Sky's attention with a wide-open gesture. "Show me what you've learned."

Click! Lark had tried to shoot him with his own weapon, but nothing happened. A few more trigger pulls, and only more empty clicks followed. "Come on now, did you really think I'd give you bullets? You done standing around like a slack-jawed buffoon, or are you going to fight?"

Birdie #4 did indeed stop standing around, but his offensive was off. He was too tense and rigid, his attacks either lacked conviction or overextended, and he kept glancing at the polearm in his slightly shaking hands. All of these factors made it easier than before for Jaune to avoid contact.

"Atrocious! I give you a real weapon, and this is all you can do? Your sloppiness with my creation is the closest thing you done to damage me. It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic." Jaune slapped away a slash with his bare hand against the flat of the blade, clacking against the metal on his glove. He briefly looked ponderingly upwards before grinning at his increasingly frustrated punching bag. "Oh, what the hell? I'll laugh anyway."

It wasn't only Jaune that was laughing maniacally. In the stands, a few students that saw this performance for what it was joined in with their snickers and chortles. The cacophony rankled Sky, dusting his cheeks red from both embarrassment and futile exertion.

"Raaaagh!" Yelling with impotent rage, Sky charged, desiring payback for the indignity he was experiencing. "Stand still!"

But all he had was another weak slash to Jaune's side, which was easily pushed aside before Jaune got in close and quickly drew Yharnam for an overhead stab to the neck. To the blond's slight surprise, Lark managed to block it with the shaft at his wrist. "Good for you, it seems like you learned something. But…" Adding more strength to his left arm, Lark's arms shook under the pressure, bringing the blade slowly closer to his face as he struggled to no avail.

"You should have deflected it." Jaune kicked his prey's ankle; the bird lost his balance, bringing him down to the ground once more, face up this time.

"I thought I told you not to let go of your weapon, or should I say, my weapon. Man, you are just hopeless and disrespectful."

"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN HALF-BREED!" The bird spoke from his place on the ground, looking more like an angry worm.

"Hmm, let me think about that." Jaune paused, looking to be considering the request. "Nah!" His exclamation and a boot to the kidney expressed his refusal, lifting him airborne for a split second.

"Still think I'm a cripple?" Kick. "Huh?" Another kick sent him rolling a few feet.

"…" Birdie mumbled something in between heavy coughs, so Jaune couldn't quite pick it up, even with his enhanced hearing.

"I can't hear you~!" He mocked.

"No." Jaune heard him whisper, his agony evident as he spoke, before picking him up by his bitch haircut up to his knees, and turning him to address the enraptured and or intimidated crowd. As his aura shield was still in the yellow, if only just, the fight was not yet over since Goodwitch had not said intervened on his victim's behalf. 'Weird. I'm practically bullying this guy, and she still hasn't stepped in. Oh well, I'm not complaining, but back to the matter at hand.'

"I'm sorry, what was that? You'll need to speak up a little louder for our adoring audience." He gestured to the others with a wide sweep of his open hand.

"No." Jaune gave his hair a light tug, eliciting a hiss.

"Louder, and no, what?"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT A CRIPPLE!" Birdie #4 finally spoke loud and clear. Ironically, that did the closest thing to physical damage he had done, as Jaune's left ear started ringing a bit.

"See, now was that so hard?" Turning him so they could speak face to face, the blond Hunter gave Lark two solid pats on the cheek with the knife, before pushing down the bird's brain cage to meet his rising knee, bringing the 'match' to a conclusive end before picking up Achilles to put away.

Kneeling down in next to him, Jaune whispered to his fallen foe. "You and your buddies are going to apologize to that Faunus from lunch, or I'll make sure we fight again real soon, and I won't be so nice next time. Nod if you understand me." After a few seconds, the broken birds nodded fervently, not even considering that it most likely wouldn't be up to Jaune who he would fight.

"Oh, before I forget. Did you guys post that video?" Bird boy tensed, before giving Jaune another nod. "Thank you for your honesty."

Now ignoring the squirming of the defeated, he stood up to give the crowd a bow, giving the other half of Team Cardinal a wink as saucy as the one Port gave Yang on their first day, much to her disgust at the time. His friends clapped and cheered, but the rest were a mixed bag as if the barrier also selectively blocked sound.

Now that the fight was over, Goodwitch walked to the center of the ring. Addressing the whole class, "Mister Arc is the victor. Though in the future, I would prefer less psychological attacks, as it could lead to a bad habit, being ineffective against the Grimm. Playing with your opponent is also not good sportsmanship, and excessive ferocity may be grounds for disqualification during tournament matches. Other than that, your skills rest upon a solid foundation." Jaune gave a curt, respectful nod in recognition.

"As for you two, you drastically underestimated a single opponent, and fell too easily to his taunting, allowing him to control the battle with ease. However, his impromptu lessons held merit. I would suggest watching and studying some videos of polearm wielding Hunters. I believe that should be all for today." They hung their heads in shame.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you. While a lack of an aura shield is uncommon, it is not unique, nor does it hinder combat prowess. Several such individuals are members of each academy's alumni, and have lead fulfilling careers." That came out of nowhere. He appreciated the teacher dismissing the credibility of those negative comments, knowingly or not, but that others have done the same was new to him. 'I'll look it up when he got some free time.'

"Like who?" Cardin shouted in disbelief.

"Thank you for volunteering, Mister Winchester. You, and your team, shall each research at least one graduate from each academy and give an oral report of their profile on Monday. Class dismissed."

Watching them leave for a bit, and waiting for the crowd to leave first, Goodwitch told Jaune that their permission for unsupervised hand to hand training had been approved. "Enjoy your weekend."

"Well, it's off to a good start. Might as well keep the momentum going." He walked to rejoin his team.

"All right, so… the 'cripple' thing… might have bothered me a slight, teensy bit more than I had let on earlier."

"No, really? I would never have guessed that." Blake replied, bringing an impressive amount of sarcasm to bear.

"Ooh, catty." His joke earned a sour look. Over the past week, he had employed small, innocuous turns of phrase that were feline related in Blake's direction as a game. He rubbed his hands in an imitation of washing them. "Well, I certainly dashed that rumor. Problem solved."

"Half of your problem, to be precise." Weiss amended. "People will still think your crazy, and your over the top violence will only legitimize that claim."

"No kill like overkill." That earned a high five from Nora. "Besides, it was all part of the plan."

"What plan? You were being a bully just like they were." Ruby wouldn't look at him. She seemed a bit nervous. "You were scary."

"Pfft, scary? Nah." Nora denied her allegation. "Scary would have been a broken leg, cause that's what I wanted to do, and I would have been scared that Jaune could have read my mind." Looking to her hammer buddy suspiciously, "Uh, you're not a mind reader, right?"

Jaune groaned at the running gag. "No, I am not a mind reader." Honestly, it might have been funny if he wasn't the target. "Nor am I any of the other things you have asked that I am." He sighed, before turning back to the less nervous reaper.

"Anyway, Ruby, there's a key difference between me and them. I did so because of the content of their character, not for something as arbitrary as physical appearance. I had not planned on going so far, but circumstance presented an opportunity that I could not resist. Who knows, they might stop or even change?" He doubted it, being a bit of a cynic, but if it helped his optimistic vice-leader feel better, why not? A healthy dose of fear every now and again is good for the soul.

Yang, who had seen bullies at work before, agreed with him. "Yeah, and besides, you can't say that they didn't have it coming. Me and Blake think CRDL was responsible for that video in the first place."

"Blake and I." Weiss corrected the improper grammar. "And there's no way to prove that. It was posted anonymously."

"Okay, Grammar-Schnee." Yang joked, earning a 'hey!' from the heiress. "But we do have evidence. It's not concrete, but it does paint a picture. Blakey, if you would."

"First, the account that posted the video also replied to some comments. He, or she, said that they were in Aura Studies class, and Sky Lark is in that class. Second, based on the camera position before it zoomed in on Jaune's ankle, it was placed on the third row on the left, where CRDL was sitting."

"Well, aren't you two a nice pair of detectives." Jaune smiled at their work behind the scenes, to which Yang grabbed Blake in a one-armed hug and replied, "Yep, that's us. Plus, they were all on their scrolls right after Story Time."

"There's one more thing." Blake was still a bit awkward at the physical contact, but since her partner was frequently affectionate, but not forcefully so, she was slowly getting used to it. "A lot of the reply comments are the same four people, who referred or implied Jaune was a 'half-breed cripple'." She felt a bit dirty for even saying it. "Nothing so direct, but the terms were used. Who else have you seen to be such overt, unapologetic racists?"

"Thanks for the help." Jaune praised their sleuthing. "I had a similar suspicion, but it was mostly because Cardin sneered at me at the ceremony, though we had never met. So I asked my punching bag, and he confirmed it."

"That's kind of a buzz kill. We spent that time investigating, and you just asked him? Lame." Yang booed for good measure.

"Sometimes the direct approach is the best approach." He reasoned.

"So what are you going to do now?" Pyrrha asked as they got back to their suite.

"Well, I was planning on cooking dinner, but today has lulled me into such a good mood, I think I'll make some dessert. What would you like, Ruby?" He knew that he might have gone a bit over the top, and he didn't want anyone he liked too afraid of him.

Not even taking a moment to ponder, she blurted out excitedly, "Chocolate chip cookies!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Over the week, the eight had delegated some roles each would play in maintaining their living quarters. Various cleaning duties were be assigned on a rotating schedule to be fair. But, the one thing that everyone had agreed on was whenever they all felt like eating here instead of the cafeteria; Jaune, Ren, and Yang would cook. That didn't bar anyone else from making something if they desired, but as the three of them were the most adept in the kitchen, it seemed the best course of action.

While they made dinner, after changing into more casual attire, the other five passed the time by either doing their own duties, or some other activity like reading, playing on their scroll, or calling whoever while some smooth jazz filled the room. It had been Ren's choice to pick the music for the evening.

Chopping some vegetables for the stir-fry, said jazz fan, who was wearing a frilly pink apron that read 'Please do nothing to the cook', commented, "I must say, Yang, no offense, but I didn't expect you to know how to cook."

"None taken, but is that a reverse sexism kind of thing?" She asked as she sautéed the rice in butter before adding the water and moved to make the sauce. "Ironic really, since the two dudes in the house are cooking as well."

Jaune pitched in as he scaled off the ingredients for the cookies, "Well, you don't exactly seem the type. But I guess that we don't, either."

"Well, it was more of a necessity. Dad's useless in the kitchen unless it's for breakfast, so I forced myself to learn if Ruby and I were to eat anything but takeout. Eventually, it became sort of fun, especially when I taught Ruby how to bake to appease her sweet tooth by herself. Girl made such a mess the first time, her red cape was white with flour."

A sad smile briefly crossed Yang's face from the trip down memory lane, unnoticed as the two guys were focused on their own tasks, before a smirk covered it up. "What about you Ren?"

"Mother was often… indisposed, and once Nora and I started traveling together, hunger was a great incentive to learn."

"Really, that's it? Here I thought it was to impress your lady friend. You're wearing something she clearly gave you."

"I also did not feel like cleaning up any more explosions. She always used too much dust in the heating elements, and she does not like being called a lady." The stoic did not rise to the bait.

"That was one time!" Nora interjected from the couch, overhearing them somehow over her headphones.

"Seven." He corrected blandly.

"No, no, you're supposed to get all embarrassed and deny that you're not, and I quote, 'together-together'! You're no fun. Stop being no fun!" Her teasing remained ineffective, and she gave up for the moment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, with them all sitting enjoying their dinner, Jaune sat content. The scene, with everyone talking in good spirits, reminded him of a full family dinner with the family.

Looking to his right, he asked in a low voice to not disturb the other conversations taking place, "So Yang, what had Weiss in a tiff after Port's class?"

"Oh, Ice Queen was mad because she thought Sis was slacking off, doodling in class."

"I did notice that she was drawing." Glancing at two in question speaking amicably, "They seem fine now. What happened?" If there was a problem, he should know about it, lest any animosity spill over on an inopportune time like a life or death situation.

"It would be easier to show you, but that would be invading her privacy, and that would embarrass her." She explained.

"And…? You're the elder sibling. That's practically your job, from my understanding." He asked.

A smile of mischief was his answer, "Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse? It's my sacred duty, after all." He hummed in response.

"Be right back." With Ruby's back to her, she wouldn't notice her until it was too late, until Nora pointed out, "Hey, Ruby, why's Yang going into your room?"

"Uh, what? She right… here." She checked the seat next to her; now empty, leaving only one blond at the table suppressing his chortling to no avail.

On cue, the door burst open, revealing Yang holding a sketchpad, presumably Ruby's. "Who wants an art show~?" Yang singsonged, only for Ruby to jump out and tackle her, whining, "NO! It's not done yet!"

Having expected a physical response, Yang braced herself, the lightweight girl moving her as much as she would have a brick wall, and held it out of her reach. "Gimme!"

"I told you, Ruby, sharing is caring. Half of us here have seen it, and isn't that just unfair?"

"And I told you that I wanted to finish it first!" Ruby rebutted, snatching it back into her grasp and hugging it close to her chest.

"Finish what? Your drawings?" Jaune asked, prompting an audible intake of breath. "She told you?"

"Nope, you did, just now." He grinned after using one of the oldest tricks in the book. "That, and I saw you sketching in class."

"See, he already knows. So show your friends, or I'll eat the first cookie, and I'll force you to watch me savor every bite before you can have any." Having heard, and experienced this threat before, Ruby knew that she meant business.

"You fiend! … Oh fine, just please don't laugh." She requested shyly, handing the book over to Jaune, who opened it. Nora walked over to look over his and Pyrrha's shoulders, dragging Ren with her chanting, "Ooh, I wanna see."

Giving a final glance at Ruby, who nodded, Jaune opened the notebook to reveal … random objects; an axe, a stick figure Beowolf, and a head of cabbage were just a few of them. At his questioning glance, the artist said, "They're on the next five pages, those are just brainstorming during class. I do the real work later."

On those five pages were comic strips, each one labeled for a day of the week. All of them featured a character that could only be Professor Port, if his weapon and moustache were any indication, though his figure was a bit less round.

"I listened to his stories, and I thought they were pretty cool, so I drew them."

Nora, who had successfully achieved naptime in that class, inquired, "Wait, you actually listened to his tales? And liked them?"

"Well, yeah." She shrugged, not seeing anything weird with that. "He was a hero, and I like happy endings."

On the last panel for each page was a small town with faceless people, human and Faunus alike, cheered for the triumphant Huntsman. Noticing that detail, Jaune briefly sent Blake a smug, knowing look, only her to roll her eyes in response.

Having read a comic or two at his partner's behest slash coercion, Ren asked, "These look like they're complete. In what way are they not finished?"

"Yes, these are made with a good amount of skill. They are shaded in very well." Pyrrha praised her fellow redhead's work.

The artist of the exhibit clammed up after letting out an adorable little whine like a puppy, looked away and fidgeted a bit. Yang answered for her in a teasing tone, "Oh, those ones are done. There are some on the back pages that are quite interesting. It's what she was working on before I caught her when I called for dinner."

Ruby kept mumbling to herself behind the group, "It's not ready" over and over like a corrupted song file, hugging her chest and rocking on her feet ever so slightly. Jaune, taking notice, closed the sketchpad instead of indulging in their collective curiosity.

"Tell you what, Ruby. Why don't you finish it?"

"Really?" She asked, voice hopeful.

"Sure, if it means that much to you. Oof!" Ruby grabbed him for a tight hug, thanking him profusely.

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" She promised before snatching her work back and dashing to her workspace, leaving rose petals in her wake. A few seconds later, she dashed back out, took a few cookies, and disappeared again, leaving a sign that read 'DO NOT DISTURB, YANG!'

"That was… nice of you." Weiss, who had stayed quiet thus far, commented warily.

"Why is that so surprising? I can do nice." Jaune protested her lack of faith in his character.

"Others might beg to differ, as your performance this afternoon points to the contrary." Blake quipped, but she didn't disapprove of Sky Lark getting what people like him deserve.

"Well, those others can go fuck themselves. No one can be liked by everyone." Jaune rewarded himself a cookie, still warm for the oven, baked to be soft and chewy yet retaining the slightest crunch, with the diameter as large as his hand, and as thick as his pinkie finger. "I'm aware of my anger issues, but I have learned to keep them for combat only. As for the taunts, words are as sharp any weapon, and often leave deeper scars then what can be left on flesh."

After clearing the table, they waited for the illustrator to return by snacking on what cookies remained from Ruby's initial raid. Nora tried to plead with Yang to sate her curiosity and tell her what she would see, but Yang kept quiet with a small smile of innocent pride.

Ruby dashed out much happier due to her work being complete. Jaune knew the feeling well. It was like when he was stuck on a boss. It would be an irritating itch on his mind, constantly reminding him of its presence until it was finished, prompting the rush of satisfaction of achieving a goal.

"Thanks again for waiting. I wanted to try something new, so… here you go!" She ripped out six pages and placed them on the cleared table, helping herself to the rest of the cookies. "These cookies are soooo good by the way, Jaune."

In these comics, Jaune was the main character, as they depicted his two confrontations of the day. Two pages were dedicated against the Grimm, while the other four were for when he fought against half of team CRDL.

The quality was a league above the previous drawings, making them look like quick, rough sketches in comparison. The art style looked like a manga, but with a slight amount of shading that was more in common with comic books. She captured the little facial emotions accurately, even if she couldn't possibly have seen them all from her perspective.

But the most prominent feature was the dark red in watercolor paint, boldly popping on the page. The Grimm's eyes and bone markings, Jaune's scarf, and the 'blood' were very eye catching, but didn't demand all of the attention.

Overall, Jaune on page looked like a menacing predator, but less so in the flesh, as he was smiling in fond appreciation. "These are superb."

"Really? What about the red paint? I ran out of pencil, but I didn't think that it would be a good fit, even if I had some. I haven't done much with color."

"Really really." He reaffirmed his approval and appreciation.

"Yeah, what he said!" Nora parroted, with the others saying other forms of praise.

Her sister picked her up form behind and squeezed her in a hug. "Ooh, I'm so proud of you! See, I told you they'd like them."

"YAAANG! Put me down." She feverishly waved her arms and legs, making an amusing scene of sibling love.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few floors down below their merriment, the atmosphere was less jovial in one dorm room occupied by Team CRDL.

In the middle of the room was a pacing Cardin, looking deep in thought. At their desks by the wall, Dove and Russell sat in their chairs quietly watching him. But Sky wasn't looking at them. He sat on the side of his bed, his head hanging from the shame of the bitter taste of defeat. Whilst Thrush had the dignity, if one could call it that, of being beaten quickly, Sky had been humiliated. But a little voice wriggled in his mind, 'Then again, none of what Arc said had been wrong.'

He had expected Cardin to yell or discipline him in some form, but surprisingly, he did not. Perhaps he was coming up with what to say?

The team leader stopped pacing. "All right, let's recap. Today didn't quite go as expected." That prompted a scoff from the Mohawk wearing green.

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one." He deadpanned. "Sky, how the hell could you lose? You got wrecked, man!"

Said 'wreck' glared at his partner. "Didn't see you do any better. He was a lot more skilled than we expected."

Dove sided against the Mohawk. "Russ, you have no room to talk. Your little outburst made our reputation dip lower if you had kept your mouth shut. Besides, I'm blameless in all of this. Cardin gave us extra work, and any disciplinary action lowers our reputation as well."

"Enough squabbling." Cardin ordered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right, this was a setback, but a minor one. Yes, we underestimated him, but we must look at the positives."

"What positives?" Russell couldn't see any silver lining. "Dude proved that he could fight, despite his… handicap. Our claim has lost all credibility."

Cardin sighed, "Only one of them has, dumbass. With the oral report form Goodwitch, that'll no longer be an option, depending on whom we select. We'll just have to find the weakest examples possible. However, we can still attack his character. He was extremely aggressive, almost beastly in ferocity one might say, and we can use that." He then asked rhetorically, "After all, what kind of protector of humanity can he be if he's so vicious to a comrade?"

Rubbing his chin, Dove added his thoughts on the matter, "It could work, if we posted an edited video of the fight, with the right comments to influence the conversation."

The defeated boy in blue shook his head, "It's not going to work."

"Why not? No one will know we posted it. We'll just be anonymous students concerned with the Humanity's safety."

"It won't be anonymous. He will know. He knew about the first video, and I'm pretty sure Goodwitch knew too. Why else would she not interfere?"

Cardin put a hand on his shoulder to end his panicked rambling, and stared at him with resolve. "Pull yourself together, man. He knew because you told him. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book. Yes, he suspected us, but that was all." He stood up and let go. "However, you're right. We're not posting the video; it's too risky, and the spectators would poke holes in any gaps. Until another opportunity comes, all we will do is train and improve, so that next time he'll be the one beaten on the ground."

"Screw you guys, I am not going back into the ring with that beast. You weren't down there with him! Why are you even trying to get rid of him? Just because your daddy said so?" It was Russell's turn to lose it. But this time, while beast is a derogatory term used for Faunus, it was not voiced with disdain, but with fear.

"You're damn right, because I can assure you, as terrified as you're acting right now, what you feel is nothing compared to the alternative. My father may not be a huntsman, but I once saw him make one piss himself with nothing but words, subtle threats, and eye contact. Failing him is not something I can afford. If that wasn't enough to go against Arc, he casually spreads lies about-"

A knock on the door interrupted Cardin's tirade. Opening the door, three figures stood outside it. In the front was an attractive girl dressed to kill in a cocoa-brown top and a black cincher, with a belt with a crosshairs buckle and a black beret. As she lightly shoved Russell to the side, she strutted into the room on leather high-heeled boots, followed by two other guys.

The first had dark skin and messy copper hair with scars lining his arms. He wore a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and black jeans. His eyes looked to be pure white to imply blindness, but he appeared to move around well enough.

The second was very tall; standing at 7'0, with skin tanned a warm brown and shaved short black hair. He was wearing an open pale green robe on one shoulder fastened by a leather-armored belt over a black muscle shirt, and brown pants. Over his left arm was a 5-layer spaulder, and he also had bracers over his wrists, all in pale green.

It was a diverse trio, but each had a frown on their face, looking unhappy to see them. Before they could ask why they were here, the woman spoke chillingly with a sultry smirk, "So, you guys are Team Cardinal, right? Mind if we… have a word?"

"Yes?"

"That was rhetorical, Mohawk boy. We know who you are, or I wouldn't be anywhere near you bozos. What we are here for, however, is an apology. So you sit down, shut up, and listen."

Gathering back his bluster, Dove asked, "Apologize for what? We've never met, and therefore couldn't have done anything to you."

She grabbed the handbag slung over her shoulder as it shifted into a large chain gun, the whirring barrels inches from his face.

"Ah bup bup!I said no talking." He sat down without another word, and the chain gun became a handbag once more. "There's a good boy. And you're wrong, because you've been messing with our teammate, a certain… rabbit Faunus. Her name's Velvet, in case you were wondering." The shorter male stretched his neck, letting out a few cringing pops.

'Oh shit, not again.' Was on repeat in Sky's thought process. Seeing an opportunity to jump out of the fire, he gathered his wits and, "Please convey my sincerest apologies."

Hearing that he actually sounded genuine, she gave Sky a neutral passing glance, "So, what happened to you? Did your balls drop off when you were getting your ass handed to you, or did you trip running away from bad taste?"

"How did you-?" He began to ask how she knew what had happened, as none of the three were there, but the giant reached slowly into his robe and pulled out a scroll, handing it to the hellion in high heels.

Soon after, it began playing a video of him and Russell 'fighting' Arc; the same one that they had just decided to not post.

"See, we wanted to have this little chat with you for a couple of days now, but Velvet had covered for your ungrateful asses, wanting to settle this without violence; such a sweet little pacifist, that one. We, on the other hand, are not so nice. Anyway, it's the end bit that caught our interest. See, Fox here…" pointing to her copper haired acquaintance, who kept frowning silently, "can read lips, and since one of you was giving you a taste of your own medicine, we wouldn't be decent teammates if a third party had all the fun. I'm sure you understand."

Glancing at her watch, her voice gained a chipper edge, "Well, look at the time. It's been fun though, let's not do this again sometime." Turning her back to the now thoroughly chastised team of first years as she strutted away, "Let's go, boys. It positively reeks of beta male in here."

After they left, the green-clad Mohawk stared at the closed door as if to make sure they were gone, blinked twice, and asked, "What just happened?"

It had been an admirable power play, but Cardin had been mostly desensitized to such a blatant attempt at intimidation over the years. Still, he recognized that they were likely out of his league, getting a good feel for their strength. Seeing yet another obstacle, Cardin merely stated, "A change in plans, but let's shelf that for now. We've got work to do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The night continued, with only Blake and Jaune awake to experience it. Yang had been up with them a few minutes ago, but she had called it a night after killing the One Reborn on her second try. Her frustration of dodging the Bell Maidens' fireballs, only to realize that there were stairs to their positions after the boss had been destroyed were too much to not rage quit, stomping away to sleep off her chagrin. 'But is it a rage quit if it's after a victory?'

That left the two sitting on the couch reading. They had no wish to disturb their roommates with the light necessary for their pastime, and there was better lighting where they were. With the last page completed, Jaune closed his book, ready to turn in. "Well, that was a good read. Night Blake."

She hummed in response, but before he made it half way to his room, "Jaune?"

"Yes?" Turning around, he saw that she wasn't looking down into the pages, so it seemed that she wanted to talk. He walked back to sit down on the couch.

"Can you please stop the cat puns?" They had begun to irritate her, especially since he gave her a subtle look as he said most of them.

He smiled at her question. "Of course. All you had to do was ask, but you should be thanking me. I'm preparing you for Yang's puns when she learns of your heritage. Speaking of, you plan on unwrapping any time soon? I'm not trying to rush you, I promise, nor will I go against your wishes on this matter. It's just that the sooner this happens, the less chance that something will go wrong. Best to do it quick, like ripping off a band-aid."

"I know, but I wanted to get to know everyone better before I do so to gauge their possible reactions. So far, it's a lot better than I had ever imagined possible. I have the suspicion that you're partner knows, but she hasn't said anything, and she appears to be firmly against CRDL's bigotry. However, I'm not sure about one of the others."

"Who, Weiss?" It was a fair assumption, given her family's history and a less than stellar first impression.

"Ren, actually." Jaune hadn't expected that, and she commented on his surprise. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you. I can't get a good read on the guy."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Guy's good-natured and prefers to just go with the flow. How do you think he's been with Nora as long as they say?"

As if summoned by speaking of him, the teen in question shambled out of his room, a dazed look in his eyes. "You all right there, man?"

"Need… pills… or she'll never…" Ren appeared to be so exhausted that he could barely string a sentence together. According to him, Nora had days where she was too energetic to sleep, and if she couldn't, then there was no way that he would be able to. So he gave her medication so that they could both get a proper night's rest.

As he dragged himself back to his room, Jaune whispered to Blake, "Watch this."

"Hey Ren, Blake and I were wondering, how do you feel about Faunus?"

Ren didn't seem to react, merely answering as he devolved into yawns and groans, "Don't care… actions… more important… Noraaaaa… pills." That was the last the two on the couch could hear before the door closed behind him.

After they had the room to themselves once more, "Well then, I'd say you've gotten your answer. There's a reason sleep deprivation is a form of interrogation. Plus, he won't remember any of this. I've tried it before."

It was how he found out that the magenta streak in his hair was actually natural.

"Right. Now all that's left is the right moment. They're not going to be upset that I hid what I am? It's not like I can just walk in tomorrow and say 'Hey everyone, I'm actually a Faunus; thought you should know.' " She didn't understand how he was so offhand about her deception.

"Well, it's not like you lied, per se. They just didn't ask, and you're free to quote me on that. Besides, it's not like you're the only closet Faunus at Beacon. I'm sure you've noticed at least a couple of them." That she had, inwardly cursing how he made so much sense.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea." His grin as he mused another scheme was not very settling to her.

"Okay, hear me out." He adopted a more placating posture to lower her uneasiness. "I'm not forcing you to do anything. But if you do this, I'll throw in something special."

Still a bit suspicious, she tentatively asked, "What did you have in mind?"

As Jaune outlined his idea, she thought he might be more insane then he let on. But once he added the carrot, Blake could help but feel tempted by what felt like a rare opportunity, much as she tried to resist. He started to express his amusement at her inner struggle, the fiend, as the act of balancing the pros and cons must have been evident on her face based on how smug he looked.

"You nefarious bastard." He paid no mind to her insult, as it lacked any bite as she stood up.

"Only non-literally. So does that mean yes?" He asked.

Hearing the blatant curiosity, the raven haired Faunus decided that a little payback was in order. Turning back to him with an inviting gaze and a wink, "I suppose you'll have to wait and see."

Realizing that the kitten finally took the bait and had begun to play, Jaune felt even more satisfied. "I eagerly await with antici-" She closed the door behind her, cutting the conversation to a close.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter End

For the CF(V)Y entrance, I saw some artwork of the team depicting such a scenario and I couldn't resist.