Jaune's Accidents
Chapter 4: Standing Up
Jaune didn't consider himself smart. Far from it, in any tests, he managed to mess up quite often, though that was because he spent more time hitting a tree than learning. If anything, Jaune was painfully average.
Fortunately, that kind of knowledge wasn't all that important in Beacon. The kind of knowledge that was important in Beacon was knowledge he earned himself through trial and error.
"The distance a Beowulf can leap depends on its age, it's very hard to pin down just what the 'youngest' and the 'oldest' are, which is why a quick engage and takedown are more important than attempts to put distance-"
"That's quite enough," Mr. Port said, raising his hand. The people stared at him, and Jaune sat down quickly, noticing them. He probably said something stupid. "As Mr. Arc has said - it's hard to decide how strong a specific kind of Grimm is except for the obvious divide between the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major species. An easier scale would be to put Grimm on a scale of different species."
"For what purpose?" someone asked. Jaune turned to the person who spoke up, one of Cardin's teammates.
"Well, everyone knows that something like a Nevermore or a Death Stalker is stronger than a common Beowulf. So if you can beat one, a group of Beowulf shouldn't make you break into sweat. The point is to decide if you're capable of taking down a particular Grimm or if you should retreat."
"Only cowards retreat," Jaune heard Cardin say, the obnoxious young man's voice echoing loudly and drawing more than a few glares towards him. "If you don't stand and fight, maybe you shouldn't be a hunter."
Jaune's shoulders slumped. That's all he had done, right? Years of running away, and his only accomplishment was defeating a Grimm with the help of Pyrrha, a prodigy who drew the stares of everyone towards her wherever they went.
"Is that so?" Mr. Port asked. "Very well, Mr. Winchester, why don't you show us. I have quite a few specimen here for practical training."
"Of course, nothing's gonna stand in my way," Cardin boasted.
It didn't take long for most of the class to move to the back seats while Jaune remained in his, not paying attention to class anymore. Cardin stood in front of a large cage.
"This is one of the oldest Beowulf species that I managed to capture, I've not yet decided on a name for it," Mr. Port said. For anyone paying attention, which was neither Jaune nor Cardin, Mr. Port's voice showed an obvious lack of confidence in Cardin's ability to take down the Grimm. The fact that the teacher had a weapon in his hands, ready to step in if it became necessary, accented the sight.
Ruby was resting her face on her desk, snoozing.
When the cage opened by a button's press, Cardin was quick to rush forward, shouting. He swung his mace, hitting the large Beowulf at the head, where a large white wolf's head had replaced the blackness of the Grimm. A mask, armor to the Grimm.
It didn't make a tone, no growl, no shout, as it lifted Cardin by his mace and threw him into the back of the class. Jaune, ever so unaware, doodled in his notebook.
The Grimm turned its attention to the source of absolute negativity in the room and jumped him. And by reflex, Jaune reacted.
He ripped the top of the desk off, raising it in front of him and blocking the claws that penetrated the wood before rolling away from his seat. The class rose up in response, about to attack the Grimm before a loud noise echoed. Smoke rose out of Mr. Port's weapon as the Grimm began to fade.
"And that," he said, nodding approvingly at Jaune, who had instinctively put himself between the backrow seats and the Grimm with his shield up high. "That's why you need to know your limits. The only good Hunter is a living one. There is no shame in running away if one lives to fight another day."
That did make Jaune feel a bit better about himself. Smiling thinly, he looked at the large wooden board that used to be a desk with three holes in it and lifted it up, putting it back in place. It didn't really stay, and the hole was exactly where Jaune was sitting.
"I'm sorry about the desk," Jaune said. Ruby blinked the sleep out of her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked, looking at Yang who was giving Jaune a wide-eyed look, missing the fact that the rest of the class had the same expression. "Yaaang, are you bullying Jaune again?"
"What? No!" she said. Ruby stared at her in suspicion. "He just blocked that Grimm that made Cardin fly around the room!"
Ruby nodded slowly.
"I'll go apologize to him later."
Yang put her head on the desk. "Ugh."
###
"You think you're funny?" Cardin asked, trying to shove Jaune against a wall but failing miserably when his classmate's body refused to budge.
"I don't know what you mean," Jaune said. He knew exactly what was happening right now, but after coming face to face with the career criminal Roman Torchwick, he didn't really think that some schoolboy bullying was going to be the end of him. Considering the fact that the school still liked to call him 'Nevermore guy' made him feel bad enough already.
"Showing me up in front of class, thinking you're some kind of bigshot, Arc?" Cardin continued. He looked absolutely furious, like Jaune's mom when he came home with ripped clothes. "Aren't you gonna apologize?"
"For what?"
Jaune knew that one had to stand up to bullies. Of course he knew that. It didn't always work out, but he had it a lot easier standing up to guys than to girls. Yang reminded him of his sisters, he didn't like her and she made him uncomfortable. Cardin, however, didn't have the same effect.
Cardin grabbed Jaune by the collar and raised his fist. Jaune moved faster, not wanting to get hit. He put his hand around Cardin's wrist, stopping the advancing fist.
"Don't touch me," Jaune said. His voice sounded a bit more forceful than he wanted.
"You-" Cardin growled, pulling his arm out of Jaune's grip. When he was about to grab his weapon, however, he came to stand still again.
"Now," Ms. Goodwitch said, walking through the door with her wand raised. "While we have nothing against students… practicing together, I believe that such an effort would be wasted if you were fighting out here all on your own."
"W-what?" Jaune asked. "What do you mean, Miss?"
"Why don't you two just have a duel in front of your classmates, that would be far more educational after all," she said. Jaune blinked. He didn't want that! They'd just see him fail considering how horrible he was at actual fighting!
"I would rather not-"
"That's not up to debate, Mr. Arc," Ms. Goodwitch said. Jaune shuddered. She was just like his mother. "Follow me."
Cardin begrudgingly followed after her. Jaune resigned himself to his fate to be embarrassed in front of the first years and trailed after them.
###
"That's way more than just the first years!" Jaune shouted, looking around at the dueling hall filled with students and teachers from all the years.
"Your previous exploits interested others, it seems," Ozpin said, walking into the hall behind him. "It's just an exhibition duel, Mr. Arc. Don't be so nervous."
"B-but I can't fight!" Jaune said. The crowd of people listening in began to laugh loudly. If the person who single handedly killed a Nevermore couldn't fight, then the entire school had no reason to exist. Jaune, however, misunderstood the laughter, as always.
All the mocking around him made Jaune sad. While standing up to Cardin was one thing, living through the shame of being mocked by everyone in the school was too hard. Trying to look for a familiar face in the crowd, Jaune found his team, and of course, Yang, who was ever so happy to laugh at him with the others. Ruby, however, was nowhere to be seen.
That made Jaune even more sad.
His arms hanging limply to his sides and his hair hiding his eyes from view, Jaune walked onto the platform, facing Cardin. There was no use in fighting back, he could just let Cardin beat him in a few seconds and then go back and wallow in self-pity while lying in bed.
The screen showed their Aura levels and faces before a loud noise announced the start of the duel.
Cardin made the first move. Jaune stood there, waiting for it to finish.
His body, however, had other ideas. Jaune moved back, taking one step to dodge the attack. The mace hit the ground, and Cardin looked even more furious than before. Preparing himself for the followup, Jaune closed his eyes and waited for the pain to hit. Instead, something settled in his hands. He opened his eyes.
His body had reacted and touched the mace - Cardin must've held back despite his anger to avoid breaking Jaune's arms. Maybe he wasn't that bad? Cardin seemed to have anger issues, but maybe he wasn't that bad - there were many people with strange quirks around, after all.
When Cardin swiped his leg forward, trying to make Jaune let go of the mace, Jaune once again stepped backwards, dragging the mace and Cardin with him. He let go, making Cardin fall on his face.
The young man stood up, red in the face.
"I'll kill you!" Cardin shouted. It was like a dance. Every swipe was dodged, only one step in the right moment, to the side, backwards, sometimes forwards right into Cardin's face, and every attack missed. Jaune didn't know how long he had to dodge for it to be finally over - despite his attempt to lose quickly, he didn't actually want to be hurt. Being hurt was scary, after all! If he was hurt and his clothes ripped, his mother would be angry-
His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and after what seemed an eternity, Cardin collapsed on the ground.
"F-fuck this," he said, unable to move. "I quit! What the fuck is wrong with you freak?!"
Cheers erupted when Jaune was declared the winner. The blonde boy blinked.
"You can forfeit?" he asked. Why didn't anyone tell him? The fact that he just won the fight wasn't even on his mind anymore. The people cheered loudly as Jaune walked out. Cardin must've grown bored.
When he was out, he met Ruby.
"Do you know where everyone is?" she asked. Jaune shrugged, pointing towards the dueling halls. "Thanks!"
"No problem," he said, walking towards his dorm. It'd be way easier if he just forfeited any other duels in the future.