Me again! Without further ado, I present the next chapter. *cough* RWBY*cough* not mine *cough* you get the rest.
"Come on man, hurry up." Cardin told his teammate as Russel was crouched in front of a locker, furiously tapping on his scroll.
"If you could shut up for a moment then maybe I could concentrate better!" Russel snapped at him. "This isn't as easy as it looks, you know. Hacking into the school's security system was difficult enough but these lockers are just as well protected."
"How long will it take?"
Russel sighed in frustration at his leader's impatience. "At least a couple of more minutes, alright? Go bother Sky or Dove and leave me alone to work in peace."
"Fine," Cardin said as he left his teammate to his devices.
Russel continued working on the lockers in order to get them open. He learned a thing or two about software from his dad, who was a pretty good Systems Developer. Russel had managed to access the school's security camera's using his personal scroll that had multiple programs that each had a variety of uses. He had put the cameras on some sort of loop using one of his programs. That way, it would look just like an empty locker room to anyone who was watching.
Sky and Dove were positioned as lookouts by the entrance. They couldn't afford to be careless. A teacher or a member of the staff might suddenly walk in on them and they would be caught for sure. If it ever came to that, they could immediately duck into their respective lockers to avoid being seen. Due to his many experiences of shoving people into lockers, Cardin knew that they could fit.
The hacker saw his leader lean against a wall and cross his arms as he waited.
Russel shook his head as he thought about the reason for their current nightly activity.
Three days had passed since Cardin's little spectacle in the cafeteria with that Arc guy. Needless to say, his leader had been furious about getting humiliated in front of everyone. Russel could understand the desire for a little payback every now and again but he was starting to question the lengths he and his team were going just to deliver it. After Cardin had calmed down somewhat, a plan began to hatch in his mind and he didn't hesitate to drag the rest of them into the process.
Russel was a bit reluctant to go along with his leader's idea since the risk of getting caught would probably be expulsion or something. However, his sense of loyalty to his team seemed to override any other thoughts on the matter. Like it or not, the four of them were stuck with each other for the next four years and he had actually grown fond of them. All for one and one for all he guessed. Besides, they wouldn't even have made it this far without his help.
A loading screen appeared on his scroll as his program had finally manage to synchronize with the locker's security software and now it was only a matter of a few minutes before he would have access to any locker he chose. Russel set his scroll down next to him and got into a more comfortable position to wait.
From the entrance, he could hear his two teammates playing Eye Spy to pass the time. Seriously, what were they, eight years old?
A ping sounded from his scroll and he checked to see that the program was finished loading. He tapped on a button and pointed the device in front of him. The locker gave off a satisfying beep before it opened.
"Hey guys, I'm done!" Russel signaled his companions in a hushed tone.
His teammates then made their way over to him as Russel pulled the door open to reveal a pair of yellow gauntlets.
"Good job, man." Cardin said appraisingly. "Sky, grab it and move to the next one."
Their teammate shook his head vigorously. "No way, dude. Have you seen that blonde chick get mad? She punched a guy straight through a wall because he accidentally cut off a small piece of her hair while sparring! I don't even want to know what she might do if she finds out I took her gauntlets."
"Hate to break it to you buddy but that girl will be the least of our concerns if ever we get caught." Dove told him.
"Relax guys. They won't find out because we'll return them straight after we use them." Cardin said as he grabbed the gauntlets and stuffed them in a bag. "All we need to do is use these things as bait for Arc. I know that little punk won't be able to resist playing the hero and once he sees his teammates feeling depressed over their weapons, he'll look for them himself. It's just too bad that there's going to be a nasty surprise waiting for him when that happens."
The three teammates shared a look between themselves.
"Wow dude, that's pretty diabolical." Dove said apprehensively and Sky nodded in agreement.
Cardin scowled at him. "Just get the rest of their weapons."
And so, they quickly set to work in taking the rest of team RWBY and JNPR's equipment from the remaining lockers. Russel couldn't help but glance over at his leader. There was a vengeful gleam in his eyes and the hacker didn't like it. He just hoped that Cardin wouldn't go too far just to get even with Arc. Sure, Russel had to admit that he was a bit jealous of the guy considering the fact that he was constantly surrounded by gorgeous babes but did he really deserve what Cardin had in store for him?
He shook off those thoughts for the time being and focused on the task at hand.
"This is the last one." Sky told them as Russel unlocked the storage contraption with a tap from his scroll. Inside was a sword resting in a retractable sheath that could turn into a shield. "Let's grab it and get the hell out of here."
Russel tucked away his scroll and wrapped his hand around the handle. However, he was greatly surprised when the sword didn't even budge once he attempted to pull it out. He tried putting more effort into lifting the weapon from the locker but to no avail.
"What the hell?" He muttered before wrapping both hands around the handle and pulled with all of his might but still, the sword remained in place.
"Dude, stop messing around and just take it out." Sky said, a bit annoyed at his teammate.
Russel panted as he stopped struggling and let go of the weapon. "I can't move it."
"Not funny man. Just get it and let's go."
"You're welcome to try." Russel invited and gestured at the sword.
Sighing in irritation, Sky grabbed the weapon and yanked it as hard as he could but to his great shock, the sword stayed firmly in place. He tried planting his foot on the back of the locker and used both of his hands seeking to pull it free. He grunted in exertion before he finally gave up and stumbled backward.
"Damn, what is that thing made of?" Sky said, slightly out of breath.
"Still think I'm screwing around?"
"What are you guys doing back here?" Cardin asked as he and Dove approached them. "Just get the punk's sword already and go."
"Apparently, the thing's made out of hundred pound steel. We can't move it an inch." Russel said.
Their leader pushed past them and gripped the weapon with two hands. As expected, Cardin growled in frustration as the sword refused to be displaced despite the amount of exertion he was giving. Dove came over to assist their leader and yielded the same results. Russle and Sky decided to give it one more try. The four of them pulled with all of their might and yet, their efforts were futile.
After a few minutes of struggling, they all gave up and just stared incredulously at the sword that, for some reason, couldn't be shifted from its position by four people but could be easily wielded by one. Either Arc was hell of a lot stronger than he looked or he had some sort of secret to carry the sword.
"Forget this!" Cardin said angrily. "It doesn't change anything. We got the rest of their stuff. Come on."
With that, he slammed the door to Jaune's locker shut and led the way back to their dorm.
Pyrrha wiped the sweat off her forehead with a fresh towel as she steadily caught her breath. "I think we made good time today."
"We beat our previous record by five seconds." Jaune agreed while he checked his scroll.
"Whew, I feel great!" Nora chirped, stretching her arms above her head.
Ren nodded and took a sip from a water bottle. "There's nothing like a quick morning exercise to start the day."
Currently, team JNPR had just finished their early jog around the campus and was in the process of cooling down. It had been Jaune's idea for them to pick up this routine after they saw him return to the dorm one morning covered in sweat. He told them that he had been out for a run and after a small discussion, the rest of the team thought it was a good way to stay in shape and eventually started joining him.
Pyrrha passed her partner a water bottle and he accepted it gratefully before chugging down most of its contents. She also grabbed a bottle for herself and felt the cool liquid soothe her parched throat. Beside her, Nora was happily munching on an energy bar while Ren merely sat in silence, enjoying the quiet and serene atmosphere. The four of them were seated on one of the benches laid out in front of a fountain while the sun was halfway above the horizon. Most of the students were still asleep but they could already spot a couple of early risers wandering around the campus.
The young Spartan discreetly glanced at her leader and had to resist the urge to blush. Jaune was dressed in his usual workout attire, a black tank top and blue sweatpants, that left his well toned body on display. He had a lean yet muscular build that suited him and she had to fight really hard to keep her teenage hormones in check whenever they went out for runs. The only thing that irked her was that she caught other females ogling her partner whenever they would jog past them.
Shaking aside the thoughts concerning those irritating girls, Pyrrha decided to take satisfaction from the fact that she was the one sitting close to Jaune at the moment. Of course, he was still unaware of her growing affection for him and she wanted to keep it that way until she deemed necessary. However, there was nothing wrong with dropping a few hints.
In a bold move, she carefully rested her head on his shoulder and leaned into him slightly. Jaune raised both of his eyebrows at the action.
"I'm a bit tired. You don't mind if we stay like this for a while, do you?" Pyrrha inquired a bit shyly.
"Not at all." Jaune told her and he adjusted himself a little so that she could be more comfortable. She didn't know whether to be happy that he agreed so easily or annoyed by his obliviousness. Nonetheless, the redhead mentally cheered for the small victory and merely enjoyed the contact. She could only hope that she could blame her pink dusted cheeks on the sunrise.
All in all, it was a peaceful morning…
…Until they heard someone screaming so loud that it almost shattered windows.
The four students quickly jumped to their feet and wordlessly dashed inside to locate the source of the disturbance. The voice was familiar and it made them hasten their pace. The team ran through the corridors and found themselves in the locker rooms. What they saw was a frantic and worried looking Ruby shoving her head into her storage unit and appeared to be looking for something.
"What's wrong Ruby?" Jaune asked, approaching the troubled girl.
"Everything's wrong!" The girl exclaimed hysterically. "Crescent Rose is gone! I know I left her right here!"
"Your scythe is a girl?"
Ruby glared at him.
"Sorry, forget I asked." Jaune mumbled.
Pyrrha glanced inside her friend's locker and true enough, it was empty aside from a few spare magazines of Dust ammunition. "Are you sure that you didn't take your weapon to the forges for a maintenance check?"
Ruby was starting to fidget with her hands and bounce a little bit in restlessness. "Yes, I'm sure. I cleaned her last night just before I went to bed and I came here to grab her before getting breakfast but now my precious sweetheart is missing!"
The sound of fast approaching footsteps reached them before the remaining members of team RWBY burst into the room trying to locate the source of distress.
"What in the world is going on?" Weiss demanded as her eyes landed on the only occupants in the room.
"Are you okay sis?" Yang asked in concern, noticing her sister's agitation.
"No! I am certainly not okay!" The girl exclaimed, stomping her foot in frustration. "My sweetheart is gone!"
Blake, ever the calm and collected member of their team, tried to appease her. Weiss just sat next to her partner and awkwardly patted her shoulder while the raven-haired girl asked where their leader last saw her weapon. The Schnee heiress had started to warm up to her leader after the little spat the two of them had a few days after the Beowolf attack. Yang, being the older sister, attempted to cheer her up in her own way. Pyrrha and the others just stood close to them, offering their silent support for the distraught girl. They all knew how fond Ruby was of weapons, especially her own.
Just then, Jaune stepped away from the group and approached the empty locker. Pyrrha stepped next to her partner and saw that he was studying the contraption intently.
"That's strange." Jaune murmured, frowning.
"What's strange?" Pyrrha asked.
The young knight turned to face her. "We all know how much Ruby loves her weapon and I've even caught her polishing it four times every week. It's not like her to just suddenly misplace it."
"Some things can slip our minds from time to time." Pyrrha said. "It's not uncommon."
"That's true, but would you ever forget about where you place Milo and Akouo?"
"Of course not," The redhead answered.
"Exactly," Jaune said. "We each take excellent care of our weapons and it's not like they just…"
His eyes widened as something dawned on him. He suddenly turned to face the rest of their friends with a scowl on his face. "Everyone, check your lockers."
"What? Why?" Yang asked, confused.
"Just do it."
All of them shared a small look of uncertainty before separating to find their respective pods. They entered their codes and opened the containers. Needless to say, they were not happy to find out what was inside or more specifically, what was not inside.
"Son of a bitch!" Yang swore as she slammed her locker shut, a hint of red flashing in her eyes.
"Where's my hammer?!" Nora exclaimed.
Ren shut the door to his locker with a scowl on his face.
"This is unacceptable! Whoever took my rapier will wish they were never born when I'm through with them!"
"Get in line." Blake told the seething heiress with her own angry frown.
Pyrrha could empathize with their reactions because her own equipment was missing as well. She clenched her fists and tried to calm her bubbling anger by taking deep breaths. Whoever was behind this should better have a good explanation to save themselves from the group of very pissed of huntresses in training.
Weiss had been making her way to the cafeteria with Yang and Blake when they heard the sudden cry of distress. The three of them shared a worried look as they recognized the voice of their final teammate and wordlessly took off running to find Ruby. The three girls found themselves busting into the locker rooms with Yang taking the lead and assuming combat positions, expecting a fight.
What they found however, was their leader talking with team JNPR and no sign of immediate danger. Yang approached her sister to inquire what this was all about while she and Blake followed. As Ruby explained her current predicament, Weiss could not help but notice the other team's attire. The four of them were sweaty and seemed as if they had just finished a workout.
Her eyes were particularly drawn to a certain blonde leader. Despite being raised to maintain her poise and dignity at all times since she was a child, the heiress was still a teenage girl. Like all teenagers her age, Weiss could appreciate how attractive a person of the opposite sex could be and currently, Jaune was a prime example of such. His tank top left little to the imagination and she was given a view of his muscular physique.
Her thoughts began to wander a little bit as she and the others tried to comfort the distraught Ruby.
Ever since their little argument, Weiss and her leader had begun to warm up to each other, albeit at a slow and steady pace. Her perspective about the whole leadership issue between them was quickly resolved after a serious talk with Professor Port. While she still questioned Ozpin's decision for putting Ruby in charge, there was no denying that Weiss had acted like a spoiled brat. Complaining would get her nowhere and that the best thing she could do at the moment was to improve not only as a Huntress but also as a person. Admittedly, her partner was often immature and childish but Weiss was also aware of the effort Ruby was putting into her studies in the hopes of becoming a better leader for them.
On that note, she and Ruby were now on better terms and dare she say it….friends.
It would also appear that she had another infuriating leader filling a spot next to Ruby's on her short list of companions.
During these past few weeks, Jaune had been doing whatever he can to get a rise out of her. He cracked out jokes just to see if he could get her to laugh, he acted stupid to purposely annoy her, and he often joined Yang in the teasing to embarrass her. Apparently her reactions amused him to some degree and he would often do this whenever he got the chance. Honestly, he was like an immature child, even more so than Ruby sometimes.
Ugh, boys were so aggravating. At least there were a few like Ren who was less outspoken and could actually hold an intelligent conversation every now and then.
But there were moments, very rare ones, when Weiss caught glimpses of another side of Jaune's personality. Whenever he stepped into the arena to spar, his smile would instantly vanish and fierce determination seemed to take its place. His cheerful blue eyes turned into piercing blue orbs that were intimidating and calculative. It was as if he was a different person every time he was met with an opponent.
It was an unnerving experience once she had been his sparring partner during one of the combat sessions. She won in the end but it had definitely not been easy.
Weiss was cut off from her train of thought when the boy she was thinking about told them to check their respective lockers. Seeing no harm in doing so, she walked up to her assigned pod and punched in her security code only to find it empty. She blinked before it truly hit her.
After hearing a few curse words from Yang and a minor rant from her, the two teams formed a loose circle among themselves to try and make sense of the whole situation.
"Why would anyone want to steal our weapons?" Ren asked no one in particular.
Yang slammed her fist into her palm. "Frankly, I don't care about their reasons. I'm just going to pound their faces into the ground once I get my hands on them."
"Don't be stupid." Weiss said, earning a small glare from the busty blonde. "We should just report this to one of the Professors."
"I'm with Yang!" Nora declared.
"Nora, you could get expelled." Ren told her. Although Weiss could see that he wasn't entirely against the idea.
Ruby chose to remain silent throughout the heated discussion and she wasn't the only one. Weiss noticed Jaune had yet to voice his opinion about the matter at hand. It was then that her eyes caught sight of the sword in his grasp.
"Care to explain, Arc?" Weiss demanded, pointing to the weapon, effectively turning all eyes on him. "Why do you still have your weapon when ours are clearly missing?"
Jaune frowned at her. "It sounds to me like you're implying something princess. Something you want to say? I'm all ears."
Not one to back down so readily, Weiss stepped up to him. "Alright, I'll say it. Whatever prank you're pulling this time, allow me to be the first to say that it's not funny. Now, if you would please stop this nonsense already and just give back our equipment then I'm willing to overlook this."
"Whoa, wait a minute. You think I did this?"
She gestured toward his sword. "The evidence speaks for itself. I wouldn't put it past you to stoop to this level just to amuse yourself. However, I think that your childishness has gone too far today."
"Well princess, if you could stop acting like a spoiled brat for a moment then maybe I can convince you how wrong you are." Jaune said in a tone that irked her even more.
"Talk all you want but the fact remains that you're the only one of us who still has a weapon." Weiss retorted. "Doesn't that seem to warrant some suspicion?"
"Oh so that automatically makes me the only suspect? Great detective work Weiss."
The two of them were almost nose to nose now as they glared at each other and the tension was getting thick. Their friends had become awfully quiet during the exchange but at the moment, the heiress couldn't care any less. This boy had been the bane of her existence since the start of the school year. He was always causing trouble. Now, instead of simply admitting his deed, Jaune apparently plans to drag this out longer than necessary. Furthermore, he had the audacity to insult her by replying in sarcastic remarks.
Meanwhile, a part of her wondered where all of her anger was coming from and whether or not it was all directed at him. She wasn't sure how their argument had escalated so quickly but at this point she felt as if it was too late to stop it. Something about the way he said the words "princess" and "spoiled brat" hurt her more than she would care to admit as memories of a lonely girl wandering around a huge mansion with only servants attending to her resurfaced.
So many empty rooms….
Yang tried to step in before things got out of hand. "Hey, come on you two, break it up."
"Grr, you are the most insufferable person I have ever met Jaune Arc!" Weiss said heatedly. "All you ever do is pester me and grate on my nerves. I don't know how Pyrrha puts up with you as a partner but I do know that I'm glad that you weren't mine or else I might have forced myself to drop out the moment we made eye contact in the forest!"
Regret instantly filled her as soon as the words left her mouth. Where did that come from? More importantly, why the hell did she say those things? Weiss honestly didn't believe in anything that she had just uttered and cursed herself for letting her anger cloud her judgment but the damage was done. She couldn't take any of it back.
She could see his jaw clenching and her chest tightened even more when she saw how much her words affected him by looking into his eyes.
"I apologize for being such an inconvenience, Ms. Schnee." Jaune said in a cold monotone that cut through her like a knife. "It won't happen again."
"Jaune, I—," Weiss started to say but the young knight turned and walked off before she could finish.
Pyrrha immediately tried to catch up with her partner. Ren only sighed before following his teammates out of the room with Nora a few paces behind him. The orange haired bomber had noticeably lost the usual spring in her step as she exited the locker room.
It was at that moment the Yang rounded on Weiss. "What the hell was that?"
"I-I didn't mean it. I just…" Weiss trailed off as she slowly sank down dejectedly onto the bench next to Ruby, who looked conflicted about the situation.
"I know that we're all annoyed because our weapons have been taken, but it doesn't mean that you could just take your frustrations out on Jaune!" Yang said.
"Your suspicions might have held some merit, however, that last part was out of line." Blake told her with a disapproving scowl. "We should have listened to his explanation first."
Weiss couldn't help but feel more miserable with each word her teammates spoke because they were right. She had jumped to conclusions without considering the other possibilities first. Stupid was not a word that would ever be associated with a person such as her but there was no denying that she had acted without thinking and now she was paying the price for it.
It was Ruby's turn to speak but her words were of comfort and assurance. "Cheer up Weiss. I'm sure Jaune knows that you didn't mean any of the things you said. Just give him a little time to cool off before you apologize. I'm a hundred percent positive that he'll forgive you."
The sheer confidence behind Ruby's words made her want to believe her partner. Weiss could detect no hint of doubt from her statement. It was times like these that Weiss couldn't help but admire the younger girl's innocence and optimistic perspective about the world. She could use some right about now.
"How can you be so sure?" Weiss asked.
Ruby responded by giving her a smile and a simple sentence as if it explained everything. "You guys are friends."
Meanwhile, unknown to eight students, they failed to hear the fading footsteps of a student that had been eavesdropping on the small spectacle since the beginning. He had simply stumbled upon the sight of team RWBY rushing into the locker rooms and ducked just out of sight near the entrance. The student managed to hide himself around another corner just as Jaune stormed out of the room followed by his teammates. A wicked smile formed on his face as he headed back to his dorm to get ready for class.
"That worked out better than I thought." Cardin said to no one in particular.
To say that he was in a bad mood would be an understatement. Listening to one of Professor Oobleck's lectures were difficult enough with the man zooming about the room and talking in a rapid fire pace that made it hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. Once you got distracted for even a moment, you'd be left in the dust trying to catch up with the day's lesson. Case in point: One distracted Jaune Arc who had already given up trying to make heads or tails of what the man was discussing. He'd just ask Pyrrha or Ren to lend him their notes after class.
Instead his thoughts lingered on the argument with Weiss this morning.
He couldn't believe how a small discussion could get so out of hand. Granted that he also found it strange as to why his weapon had been the only one that was not taken but to suggest that he stole their weapons as some kind of joke angered him. He would never go so far as to cause them more trouble than they could handle! Everyone knew how important a Hunter's weapon was to the individual. In Ruby's words, they were an extension of themselves.
The worst part was the things Weiss said in the end that got to him. It stung to know that after all the time they had spent together, she thought he was nothing but a constant annoyance. While he knew that the whole thing was partly his fault for dragging the argument out longer than necessary and for taking some uncalled barbed shots at her, it still didn't clear her from branding him as a thief.
He appreciated his teammates' attempt at cheering him up and keeping his mind off the incident but it didn't help that much. The two teams generally avoided each other for the rest of the day due to the current tension between their members. They sat at different tables at lunch and selected seats that would place them on opposite sides of the classroom.
By this point, the bells had signaled the end of class and Professor Oobleck was giving them a few last minute reminders.
"Remember students, I expect you all to read the next chapter before our next class as well as a two page essay about what we covered today." Oobleck instructed them as they each began to file out. "Mr. Arc, a small word if you please."
He turned to his teammates. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you."
They nodded and eventually left him alone with the hyperactive History Professor.
"I couldn't help but notice your lack of attentiveness in my class today." Oobleck said as he gathered some papers on his desk. "While I do not show favoritism, it is my duty as a teacher to educate and instruct each of you to become the best Huntsman you can be. I cannot do so if one of my students has their head in the clouds."
"Yes sir," Jaune said, nodding respectfully. "I'm just having problems with one of my….classmates."
He was reluctant to call Weiss his friend again so quickly. He still considered her as one, despite everything but he wasn't sure if she thought the same.
"Well then I suggest you fix it, Mr. Arc." Oobleck said. "Because I won't tolerate any distractions and I expect you to participate actively in my class."
Jaune sighed. "I wish it was that simple Professor but it's…complicated."
"Nonsense," Oobleck straightened his glasses and sipped from his mug. "Well of course you're not going to get anything done with that attitude! Any problem could easily be fixed as long as you are truly willing to do so. Some people give up too easily or simply don't give enough effort which is why they never accomplish anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is much work to be done and so little time."
With that being said, the green-haired professor zoomed out of the room faster than Jaune could see him move. Seriously, what was he putting into his coffee?
However, the man did have a point. While there were still feelings of hurt and anger, he didn't want things to remain like this between him and Weiss. He knew that he had to make amends as soon as possible and hopefully she was willing to do the same. As he walked out of the classroom, he began thinking of a way that could mend the rift and that was when he thought about what started the whole argument in the first place: The stolen weapons.
It would be a step in the right direction if he wished to regain her companionship.
Besides, he had a pretty good idea about who was behind the theft. Of course, he had no concrete evidence to prove this. However, it wasn't too far-fetched to say this was all Cardin's doing. Judging from the smug smirk on the boy's face as soon as Jaune turned a corner and came face to face with the said boy, the blonde had a gut feeling that he was correct in his assumptions.
"How's it going Jauney boy?" Cardin greeted in a suspiciously civil tone. The young knight swore he could already see the smug smirk threatening to appear on his face as the boy blocked his path.
Jaune sighed tiredly. He wasn't in the mood for this. "What do you want?"
"Can't a guy just stop by and chat with his good buddy?" Cardin adopted an innocent smile that just screamed trouble.
The blonde clenched his fist as he tried to retrain himself from punching the boy's lights out. "Look Cardin, I don't give two shits about what your game is and frankly, I have better things to do."
Jaune roughly brushed past the larger student and barely took two steps when Cardin's next words stopped him.
"I'm sure you do, Jauney-boy. It's a real shame about your weapons getting stolen. I hope you can find it soon. The Ice Queen might even forgive that whole argument in the locker rooms earlier."
The way he spoke, as if he was deliberately throwing it in his face, triggered something in the blonde. Cardin was baiting him and was waiting to see what his reaction would be. Jaune had no proof but there was no doubt in his mind that the culprit behind this theft was none other than the leader of team CRDL.
Jaune could tolerate any form of bullying from anyone as long as it was directed at him. However, targeting his friends was a big mistake and Cardin was about to learn this the hard way.
As quick as a cobra, Jaune twisted around and raised his fist to deliver a swift punch to his jaw. However, Cardin had been expecting this and caught it in his hand. The brutish boy reared his other hand back to retaliate but the blonde sent a thrust kick that nailed the boy in the chest and sent him stumbling back.
The two students glared at each other and were about to charge forward again when someone interfered by appearing between them. Jaune's eyes widened as he caught sight of the newcomer. The teen had dark skin and messy copper hair. He wore an orange vest with a high collar and dark pants that had several pouches lined on his belt. The blonde knight noticed that the guy had several scars along his arms.
The unknown teen turned to face him and Jaune almost flinched once he got a good look at his face. His eyes were pure white and to be honest, quite unsettling.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Another voice made itself known.
Jaune looked behind him to see an older girl approaching them. She had fair skin and short brown hair with highlights at the tips. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at her choice of clothing. She was dressed as if she were headed to a fashion show or something with all her accessories and whatnot. She peered at them over the top of her designer shades. However, the girl did have a certain air about her and she strode forward with confidence.
"Looks like a couple of freshmen are having a little squabble." The girl said with her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. "Sorry kids, but you better knock it off before my teammate has to bash your skulls together for you to get the message."
The dark skinned boy rolled his shoulders and stared at them with his unnerving pale eyes. Jaune had to admit that the boy did in fact look very intimidating. Plus, judging from the way these two carried themselves, it became abundantly clear to him that they were older students due to the girl's freshman comment.
Cardin seemed to be coming to the same conclusion and realized that he was no match for the new arrivals. He just grunted and tried to salvage some face. "Tch, whatever, I'm done here anyway. I'll be seeing you soon Arc."
The larger student then turned and made his way back to the dorms, leaving the blonde knight with the two senior students. Jaune had to frown at the boy's parting words. What did he mean by that?
"Well, that was easy." The girl said as Jaune faced them. "Lucky for you, we arrived just in the nick of time to save your butt."
"I could have handled him." Jaune stated defensively.
The girl only rolled her eyes behind her shades. "I wasn't talking about the dumbass you were fighting."
She then pointed to one of the security cameras above her, located just below the ceiling.
"If that happened to escalate any further, someone might have seen it." She explained as if he were slow on the uptake. "Velvet would probably appreciate it if her new friend didn't get himself suspended for doing something stupid."
Hearing the name of the girl that he only started to get to know since the cafeteria incident, Jaune made him frown in confusion. He occasionally spoke to her during Professor Oobleck's class and it was then that he learned that she actually belonged to the batch of students before them. He also remembered her telling him a little about her team and how their schedules clashed sometimes. Wait a minute…..
"You're Velvet's teammates?" He unintentionally blurted out.
"Yep, I'm Coco and this is Fox." She gestured to herself and the pale-eyed boy. "We heard about what happened between you and what's his name? Carson? Carl? Anyways, we're grateful that you stood up for her when we weren't around. Not a lot of people would have done it considering her heritage."
Jaune scratched his head sheepishly. "No problem. I know what it's like to be picked on because of whose family you're born into and she probably has it worse."
Coco nodded. "I see her as my sister but I swear that girl is too gentle for her own good. She can fight Grimm as good as some of the best damn Hunters around but she refuses to stand up for herself in front of other people. Those goons that were making fun of her had gotten lucky. I'd like to see them try mocking her in front of me."
She hefted a small handbag and it was only then that Jaune noticed the bullets lined around her waist. Coco slung the small bag over her shoulder and he could sense that the thing was probably heavier than it looked. The girl did a pretty good job of making a purse look intimidating. Factor in her imposing stare and it would make most guys think twice before even daring to approach her.
"Weren't you the one warning me to avoid fights five minutes ago?" Jaune said with a hint of a teasing smirk. "You're not exactly setting a good example for your younger peers."
The girl gave him a quick once over before nodding as if coming to a decision.
"You know what? I like you kid." Coco said with a small grin. "You got spunk."
"Thanks, I guess," Jaune replied. Then to his utter surprise, she reached down and smacked him right on the ass. Honestly, he had no idea how to respond to that.
"Well, we better get going. See ya around." Coco said as she began to walk past him with Fox a few paces behind. The quieter one of the two gave him a small nod in farewell.
Jaune watched them round the corner before deciding to catch up with his team. He checked his scroll for the time and found that it was almost time for dinner which meant that they were probably at the mess hall. He was about to tuck the small device back in his pocket when a tone alerted him of a message he just received. It was probably Pyrrha checking up on him.
He tapped on the message icon and displayed the message. However, it wasn't his partner that sent it. Jaune read through it and clenched his teeth by the end.
If you want the weapons back, meet us at the combat arena tonight as soon as it's passed curfew. Come alone. - C
Pyrrha shifted to her side as she tried to get more comfortable. Sleep still eluded her even though it was already an hour since they all tucked in for the night. They spent the earlier half of the evening after dinner by doing their homework and mostly helping Nora with hers. Not to say that the bubbly girl was stupid, but she was easily distracted and grew bored with solving problems and writing essays.
The red-haired girl had suppress her giggle as she thought about Ren's stern scolding when Nora fell asleep in the middle of his explanation about a certain aspect of the assignment.
Her elation soon subsided when she thought about her remaining teammate. Jaune had been no help at all in trying to get Nora to focus since he was so distracted himself. Ever since this morning, her partner had been lost in his musings and constantly spaced out during class. She tried to strike up multiple conversations with him to get him out of his funk but it seemed that he wasn't in the mood for it.
Perhaps the argument with Weiss earlier today was still weighing on him. She felt a little guilty for not jumping in and putting a stop to the heated discussion before it escalated any further than needed. Instead she just stood there like an idiot and let the events unfold. Some friend she was.
Suddenly, a soft padding of footsteps caught her attention. She heard the door to their shared closet opening quietly and she allowed herself to peek through half closed eyelids. Needles to say, she was surprised when she caught a glimpse of Jaune silently putting on his armor and attaching his weapon to his hip. He turned his head to glance in her direction, probably to make sure they were still sleeping, and Pyrrha immediately shut her eyes and feigned unconsciousness.
What was he up to? Surely he knew of the curfew that the school expected them to abide. It just didn't make any sense for him to just up and leave in the middle of the night. She knew that Jaune generally avoided getting into trouble else he might incur the terrible wrath of his mother (Jaune told her some stories). In any case, he must have a good reason to be bringing his weapon along with him.
She heard the door to their room open and close, with a barely audible click. Pyrrha immediately got up to see that Jaune had left. She quickly changed out of her sleeping gown and into something more casual. She didn't want to waste any time putting on her armor and even if she did, she had no weapons for it to be of any use.
She internally debated on whether or not to wake her other two teammates to follow their leader. In the end, she opted to follow him on her own and perhaps find out his reasons to go for a nightly stroll. So, after putting on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of sandals, she immediately set out to find her partner.
Pyrrha shut the door to their room as quietly as she could before racing down the hall to pursue Jaune.
Meanwhile, a nervous Ruby was tiptoeing down the hall in search for anyone that might spot her. She peeked around a corner and once she deemed that the coast was clear, she continued to stealthily make her way down to the kitchens for a midnight snack. She would most likely get into trouble for breaking curfew but as of this moment, the incessant growling of her stomach was more important to her.
She had been having a pretty bad day. First, she woke up to find her weapon stolen from her locker. Plus, it seemed that her friends' weapons had also been taken except for Jaune's, which was weird. Then, Weiss decided to accuse the blonde knight for stealing their equipment as some sort of joke and now the two were barely speaking to each other since the locker rooms. They even had to sit at different tables during meals!
Cheering up Weiss had been a good way to keep her mind off of her missing sweetheart. Ruby could tell that her partner felt really bad for saying all of those things to Jaune and wanted to apologize but she just didn't know how to do it. The younger girl had to suppress a sigh at the thought of the heiress's dumb pride hindering her ability to make amends. Ruby hated it when her friends didn't get along.
She continued to silently creep along the hallways when she heard the sound of footsteps heading in her direction. Fighting down her panic, she frantically began to look for someplace to hide. What if it was Miss Goodwitch? Oh gosh, anyone but her. She was a fair professor but the woman was somewhat of an enforcer when it came to school rules. Ruby did not want to spend her weekend writing a five page essay about her behavior and how to avoid repeating an incident.
The sound of footsteps was getting closer and Ruby still had nowhere to…wait a minute, bingo! A janitor's closet was just down the hall. She used her Semblance to make a mad dash for it. Fortunately, it wasn't locked and she ducked inside before closing the door. The girl crouched down in the small space of cleaning supplies and breathed in relief. That was close!
She heard the footsteps getting louder until the person was almost a few feet away from her position. It was then that Ruby had a horrible thought. What if it was the janitor? She'd be in trouble for sure and there was nowhere to run.
Calm down, maybe it isn't the janitor. But what if it is? He'll report me to a professor for sneaking past curfew. Gah! What am I going to do? All I wanted was a midnight snack! Is that too much to ask? Okay, just breathe Ruby. I know! I'll just take a peek through the door to see who it is.
Steeling her nerves, she slowly opened the door just enough to see through the small opening but not enough to be noticed. The footsteps were about to pass by the closet and a person came into view. However, it wasn't someone she expected to be up and about at this hour. Why was Jaune dressed in his armor at this time of the night?
She was so confused by his sudden appearance that she didn't notice a small puddle of spilled soap next to her when she adjusted her footing slightly. Ruby inevitably slipped onto her butt and let out a small "eep!" of surprise. She slapped her hands over her mouth and stayed absolutely still.
Luckily, Jaune seemed to be in a bit of a hurry and failed to notice her as he turned left at the next corner.
Ruby let a few seconds elapse before she slowly got up and let herself out. She stared at the direction in which her friend took. Jaune was up to something and she had a bad feeling about it. She was thinking about following him to see what he planned to do when suddenly…
"Ruby?" A familiar voice behind her said.
The girl let out a small squeal in surprise as she whirled around to face the person behind her.
"Pyrrha, don't scare me like that!" Ruby reprimanded the older girl as she tried to reign in her rapidly beating heart rate.
The red-head smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I have to ask, why are you still up this late and what were you doing in the janitor's closet?"
"Well uh, you see…wait what are you doing up so late?" Ruby retorted. Not wanting to divulge her real reasons for breaking curfew she relied on a tactic she used on Yang and dad whenever she got into trouble. She would answer a question with a question and confuse them so that they would eventually forget to scold her.
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment before deciding to answer honestly. "I was following Jaune."
"Why? Is something wrong?" Ruby asked, genuinely concerned for her co-leader.
"I don't know." Ruby could hear the worry in Pyrrha's voice. "I saw him leave the dorm with his weapon and armor but I have no idea what he plans to do."
That made up Ruby's mind for her. "Then let's find out! If he's in trouble then we can be there to help. I saw him go this way."
Pyrrha smiled and nodded as the two girls hurried to pursue their friend.
"I was starting to think you weren't going to show." Cardin said.
Jaune didn't bother to respond as he stepped into the combat arena. Cardin and his team were standing on the other end with their weapons drawn. All the lights save for the one above them were turned off, casting the bleachers in total darkness. He also couldn't help but notice that the security cameras didn't seem to be working properly since the red light that indicated whether the camera was recording was turned off.
"Alright Cardin, what do you want?" Jaune demanded with a scowl. "I know you're not just going to return the weapons for free."
A chuckle escaped the larger boy as he hefted his mace onto his shoulder. "We go straight to the point huh? Okay then. See, here's the thing, nobody humiliates me without some repercussions. I mean nobody."
Jaune whistled. "That was a pretty big word for you Cardin. Good job."
"You think you're so clever, don't you Jauney boy?" Cardin sneered. "I'm going to enjoy pounding you into the dirt."
"That's tough talk for someone who has his buddies standing behind him." Jaune said, eyeing the other three.
"I never said I planned to fight fair." Cardin said. "I don't give a damn about your stupid weapons. That was just the bait to get you here. All I want to see is you in the infirmary by tomorrow."
Cardin tightened his grip on his mace while the other three took up hesitant battle positions.
Jaune exhaled deeply. So it came down to this after all. He had an inkling suspicion about what Cardin wanted from the moment he sent the message but he assumed that the boy at least had some pride to fight one on one. Apparently, this was not the case and the boy's only intention was to cause him physical harm.
Seeing no other option available to him, Jaune slowly drew his sword and activated his shield. The blonde usually avoided unnecessary fights because one of the most important things his grandfather had drilled into him was:
A sword is no toy Jaune. Whenever you draw your weapon, you have the responsibility of wielding it as an extension of yourself. Cast all of your childish inclinations aside because in your hands is something that has the ability to either take life or protect it.
He took those words to heart and now was a prime opportunity to display it. Cardin and his team were going to come at him and he had a feeling that they won't be holding back. Fighting Grimm was one thing but facing human being was different. Jaune would do his best to remember what separates a man from a monster. While Cardin is a bully, he was far from evil.
Still, that didn't mean he was going to go easy on them. He continued to do poorly in Miss Goodwitch's class because he had been trying to perfect a skill that was far from complete. Jaune thought that it would be useful once he managed to master it. For now, he would let his training speak for itself.
Jaune slipped into his normal combat stance. However, there was a notable change that even Cardin seemed to notice. Every time he fought in class, his sword work was slightly stiff and awkward while also lacking the power behind blows and swings. This will not be the case now because…
…this time, the sword was in his right hand.
Dun dun dunnn. Sorry but I have to end it right here. Don't hate me for it. So there you have it, the big reveal about why Jaune can manage a little bit but can never win in a match. Also, as you may have noticed, updates might become a little more irregular since things are becoming super stressful on my end. But anyways, I'll try to update as soon as I can. So as always, leave your reviews and tell me what you think!
