Hey there guys! So I finally finished chapter 4 of A Rose's Final Petal featuring Jaune Arc. Sorry it took so long to finish, I don't have any time during the week to work on it.

Now in regards to the comments: yes I am evil, yes I laugh at your reactions, and yes I do cry as I write these. A great deal. For example, I cried while re-reading the funeral from Weiss's chapter for Jaune's chapter, I cried while writing Jaune's chapter, and I especially cried after reading over Jaune's chapter. Yeah... It's been hard...

In any case! I hope you enjoy this chapter and those to come. I should have a new posted every weekend although whether it gets posted on Sunday or Saturday I could not tell. Next up comes Nora Valkyrie's chapter. Personally, I think this is going to be the saddest one yet with exception to Weiss. That one made me cry the most...

But now! Without farther adieu, I give you Chapter 4, featuring Jaune Arc's own feelings of woe and horror. Enjoy!

Jaune

How could this happen? I ask myself. How could we let this happen. How could I let this happen? I think to myself as I stand in the back of the funeral. I'm a captain and I was helpless to save her. Hell, I was her friend and I couldn't help her. I'm a failure as a leader.

"Nope, you're not allowed to be a failure. You've got a team now, Jaune. We both do . And if we fail, then, we'll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you," Ruby's words flash in my mind.

I shut my eyes wanting to block out the painful memory. It turns out you were wrong Ruby, I AM a failure after all. I'm sorry that your faith was misplaced.

I'm dimly aware of Ozpin on a stand at the edge of the hill giving a speech but I don't hear a single word that he says. Closer to the front I see Weiss draw her knees up to her chest and bury her head in them.

This is killing Weiss, she really loved Ruby. I remember all the failed attempts I made to court Weiss myself. Who the hell was I kidding. Of course she wouldn't go for me, not when Ruby already held her heart.

Eventually Ozpin stops talking and steps down from the stand. As a group everyone walks to the edge of the cliff hill where Ruby's coffin hangs over a deep hole. I work my way to the front by a sudden, desperate need to be closer.

I find myself standing next to Weiss. I look over her not really surprised to see her eyes like two flat discs. As the coffin slowly lowers into the ground Weiss sinks to her knees crying again. I lay a hand on her back wanting to cry myself but having exhausted my tears already.

With the coffin fully lowered into the pit, two workers begin to shovel dirt over the wooden box now hidden from sight. With no warning Weiss tries to bolt forward. I barely manage to catch her and drag her backwards against her sudden strength.

Pyrrha appears out of nowhere and helps me hold down the white haired heiress from scrambling forward. "Weiss stop!" I say trying to make her stop but it's as if she doesn't even know I'm there.

Finally the hole is filled and Ruby's headstone is placed atop the fresh dirt, the quartz rock shining in the evening sunlight. Distracted Weiss breaks free of my grasp and in an instant is kneeling over Ruby's grave.

She begins to wail in despair, desperately hugging the gravestone. I shut my eyes wanting Weiss to stop screaming, the heart wrenching sound simply making me feel that much worse. I turn away from the grave and sprint down the hill, Pyrrha calling after me to wait.

I sit in the back of the classroom staring off into the distance until the bell rings, snapping me out of my trance. I slowly rise to my feet barely aware of my surroundings as I walk to the cafeteria. Once there I stumble through the line mumbling thank you's.

Having filled up my tray I step out of the line and look for an empty table to sit at. My eyes drift over to the back wall of their own accord seeing the massive crack running through the concrete.

My throat closes up remembering the massive food fight I had here just a few weeks ago against Ruby's team. We had just about won, defeated everyone but Ruby, when she wiped my whole team out in a single strike.

I grimace and shut my eyes tight feeling tears begin to threaten at the fond memory. I turn away from the broken wall and find an empty table near the front of the cafeteria. Luckily it's hidden in a corner so hopefully the rest of my team won't be able to find me.

I haven't been able to look at them ever since Ruby's death. I even started living with Sun and his team in the guest dorms to try and avoid my team. I sit down at the barren table and start eating, not tasting. Just going through the motions.

I hear footsteps behind me and think to myself, Maybe if I ignore whoever it is, they'll just leave me alone. "Oh Jauney boy!" I hear from behind me. Oh damn, what does he want this time?

Cardin slaps a hand down on my shoulder. Hard. "Hey there buddy." I don't respond, content with silently eating and ignoring him. "I heard what happened to your little friend the other day," he says. Immediately I stiffen up.

"Such a shame, really. But then again, that's what little girls deserve for sneaking into Beacon early. Just like a little someone we all know and-" I cut him off having drawn my sword and placing it against Cardin's neck.

"Not one more word out of you, you little whining bitch," I say, slowly rising to my feet. I turn to glare at Cardin and the look on my face makes him take an uncertain step back.

"It looks like Jauney Boy wants to fight now does he," Cardin sneers, momentarily forgetting the blade hovering inches from his neck. "Don't forget your place-"

I cut him off again. "Yes, he does want to fight," I answer, my voice low. A new found anger surges through my body and at that moment the only thing I want is to slice Cardin's head off for bad mouthing Ruby. "Arena. Now."

Fear flickers in Cardin's eyes for a moment but he tries to cover it up with a sneer. "Fine then, if you think you can beat me that is." I don't answer him this time, I just stare at him keeping my sword held steady at his throat.

I drop it after a moment and spin on my heel, walking out of the cafeteria and heading for the arena building, Cardin and many others who noticed the conflict following me. Once there, I walk to the edge while spectators fill the stands around Cardin and I.

He now holds his mace, having grabbed it somewhere along the way. "Last chance to back down Jauney Boy," Cardin taunts as I hook my shield to my arm. "If you say you're sorry and beg for forgiveness, I'll let you off the hook with doing all my midterms."

"If I say I'm sorry!?" I explode. "What about you! All year you have been an unbearable asshole but I put up with it. But this time you went too far. Who the hell do you think you are to talk about Ruby like that!?"

I spring forward slashing my sword down. Cardin easily blocks the strike with his mace and pushes me off. He swings at my left shoulder and I don't have time to raise my shield up or to move.

The moment before his mace strikes me though my aura flares up, stronger than ever before. Cardin's mace shatters and a sickening crunch followed by a loud pop comes from his own left shoulder. Instantly the boy drops to his knees screaming in agony.

Too angry to be shocked at my new found power however, I kick at Cardin and he falls back as my boot connects with his face. "She was better than you!" I scream. "She was better than all of us!"

I kick him again, this time hitting his liver. "She gave her life to protect people! She died saving Weiss!" I'm dimly aware of the tears now streaming down my face as I keep kicking Cardin. "You don't have the right to say her name much less make fun of her!"

"What about that do you not get!?" I scream again. I raise my sword up into the air aiming to split Cardin's head open as he whimpers pitifully on the ground holding his shoulder. I slash downwards but my sword connects with an invisible shield hanging just above Cardin's head.

"Jaune Arc!" a voice shouts from the stands. "Stop this at once!" I spin around to find a group of spectators having parted around Glynda who is holding out her wand. "What is the meaning of this?"

"He insulted Ruby!" I shout, swinging my sword to point at Cardin. "I can't let him get away with something like that!" I realize that I'm trembling, not with fear or anger, but shaking with sobs. I squeeze my eyes shut and lower my head, my sword falling along with it.

I sink to my knees and whisper to myself, "I can't just let him get away with something like that... She was my friend…" I let go of my sword and hug myself around my stomach, a sudden pain ripping through me as I bow my head to the floor and cry.