Residuum

Blood 1.4

v


As his anger continued to ebb away, Jaune curiously looked around the room not understanding why they had all fallen mute. It had only been a Spinnypi- a Boarbatusk. Despite their armor, their weak spots were pronounced and easy to hit, not to mention that their attacks were pretty much straightforward and easily avoidable. Unless someone was inattentive enough to get caught by its spinning attack, this species of Grimm were possibly the easiest to deal with.

Apart from the people he didn't know, his teammates also had a variety of different looks on their face, ranging from Ruby's awed to Pyrrha's ashen.

Deciding to ignore the shocked stares of his classmates, Jaune shot a look at the teacher who coughed into his fist, flustered.

"Yes, yes! Very well done Mr Branwen," Port said, "You remind me of a younger me, in fact. Now, I believe we're out of time for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings. Teams JNPR and RWBY, come see me please."

Jaune, already being near the front of the class watched as most of his classmates left the room, whispering and giving him strange looks. He saw his and Ruby's team approach the front of the room tentatively, looking slightly apprehensive at what they thought might be a dressing down.

"Now students, I do understand that you have been chosen to participate in this new venture that Beacon has created," he said, "Of course, standing out amongst your peers might put more pressure on you than you anticipated, but once you graduate into becoming the fine Huntsmen and Huntresses I know you'll be, you won't have a chance to skip out on your duties. I can forgive the actions you take here, but out there first impressions last. Be more careful in the future."

Jaune took the Professor's words in stride, taking them at face value more than anything. He did manage to glimpse at some of the team, noticing that they held a certain acknowledgement for the man's words more than he did.

Perhaps this was the difference between him and the rest of his classmates. Qrow had called Huntsman the protectors of the world. His friends were different from him, they were here to be heroes, to protect the public. However, Jaune was only here because of a deal. Become a Huntsman and they would try to find his family.

It wasn't much of a decision, and really anything was better than the life he led before. The blond did truly appreciate the opportunity Qrow had given him, but he sometimes felt that he wasn't allowed to have another choice. It was a noose around his neck, but Jaune knew better than anyone that life wasn't fair. He had to make the most of it.

"I know that Professor Goodwitch already assigned detentions, but I'm afraid I'll be assigning you some extra readings for my class as punishment," Port said, and Jaune knew immediately he wasn't going to be doing those, "Perhaps it will help tide you over with your other classmates if they see you being punished. Run along now, Professor Oobleck shouldn't be kept waiting."

"Thank you, Professor," Weiss said, giving the man a small curtsy. The group left the room all together, feeling chastened after the man's lecture.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have tested our teacher's patience," Ren said as the group headed to their next class.

"We'll be more careful in the future," Ruby promised, "But first! Jaune, that was SO COOL!"

Jaune stepped away from her, surprised by her outburst.

"Oh, was it?"

"Yeah! You were like kapow, wutah!" Nora said excitedly, jumping around and making karate moves.

"Gotta admit, didn't expect you rip that thing in half with your bare hands," Yang said, grinning appreciatively, "I bet that Grimm didn't think that taking you on was a difficult tusk. Huh, huh?"

Most of the group groaned at her though Jaune didn't get it. Pyrrha grabbed Jaune's bandaged hand, obviously having been worried since he fought the Grimm.

"I can't believe you did that," she said, scolding him, "Your bandages are all bloodied now. What were you thinking, Jaune?"

"My aura's already healed it," Jaune told her, though she ignored him as she began unwrapping the bandage. Jaune felt equal parts annoyed and comforted by the girl's nursing.

"It was an uncivilized and uncouth method of fighting," Weiss said, "You may be strong, but show some restraint in your fighting style."

"What the…"

Pyrrha, having finally unwrapped the bandages from his hand saw it for the first time, gazing at it in dismay. A nearby gasp had shown that Yang had seen them as well. His hand was completely littered with old lines and lacerations, trophies of all the times he had cut himself to use his blood but hadn't had aura to completely heal the wound.

Remembering Qrow's advice about keeping his hands covered, Jaune snatched his hand away and immediately wrapped it up, ignoring that the bandage was bloodied.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, not having seen Jaune's hand and curious about the look on Pyrrha's face.

"It's nothing, Ruby," Yang spoke up immediately, clapping a hand on her shoulder and leading her to the front, "Now come on, we really shouldn't be late a second time."

The group arrived to Oobleck's class right on time, taking a seat near the back corner this time to avoid the gazes from the rest of the class. Jaune had been even less enthused for this class than he was for Port's. At least learning about Grimm could be of use to him, but what would the history of Remnant ever matter? While Port had been a blustering man, Oobleck was a very fast talker, speaking a bit too fast for Jaune to keep up. If the blond even cared about learning anything in this class, he probably wouldn't have been able to considering he could barely understand the man speak.

Sighing, Jaune rested his head on the desk. This time, Pyrrha didn't bother him about taking notes, though he did feel her give him a distressed glance every so often. He mostly ignored it, not bothering to even attempt to know the reason why. Was it because he was a bad student? Was there something wrong with his scarred hands?

Like Port, Professor Oobleck had also acknowledged the group by asking them questions though he seemed to avoid Jaune, perhaps having been forewarned by Port. Whichever the reason was, Jaune was glad.

When Oobleck's class was over, the blond let out a sigh of relief. The day had been zero for two so far, and it didn't bode all that well for the last class of the day he had; combat class with Glynda.

As they made their way to Glynda's sparring arena, Jaune noticed that the group had fractured somewhat. Yang was off whispering something furiously to Blake, obviously something she didn't want advertised. Ruby was happily chatting with her own partner, and though Weiss did not look enthused she was talking back to the younger girl.

Ren and Nora followed behind them, both silent but mostly in good spirits. At least Nora was; Jaune hadn't really seen too much emotion out of the only other male in their collective teams and found it hard to tell what he was thinking.

Pyrrha walked diligently at his side, her eyes unfocused and on the floor, lost in thought. Glynda's class was always at the end of the day and there was a small break before it, allowing students to grab their gear and change into their combat clothes. Some of the more daring students would take the chance to grab a quick bite to eat, but nobody in their class had bothered.

Once they arrived at the arena, Jaune inspected it thoroughly. It was very much a straightforward place. There was no place for him to hide behind cover; it was truly meant for him to fight someone in a head to head one-on-one fight.

He instantly knew that he would be at a disadvantage fighting here.

"Now that everyone has arrived, we can begin," Glynda addressed the class imperiously, "Welcome to your very first Combat class at Beacon. In here, you will practice and hone your skills in a structured environment. Your opponents will be your classmates and there will be a variety of different battles, such as one-on-one, or team versus team."

A few people glanced over at the eight of them, wondering how team battles would go in their case.

"I believe most of you are familiar with how a sparring class works, but we will still go over the rules," she continued to explain, "I will call two combatants to the stage. Miss Nikos, would you mind assisting?"

"Of course, Professor," Pyrrha replied politely before heading down to the floor with all eyes on her, remaining dignified despite the stares and mutters of her schoolmates. Glynda looked through her scroll, perhaps trying to find a match for the girl.

"Miss Belladonna," she said, "Would you like to try your hand?"

Blake, not having a reason to refuse, nodded and headed to the floor as well, standing in front of Pyrrha. Almost everyone knew of the redhead's fighting prowess, and she had seen the girl charge at a Nevermore by herself. On the other hand, Jaune was about to see his partner fight for the first time.

"Now then," Glynda began, waving at the giant screen resting behind her, "You can see that their aura levels are displayed on the screen. If you check your scrolls, you can also track your aura level's on that. As it is right now, both Miss Nikos and Miss Belladonna have their aura at the full capacity, which is why the bar is at green. Should they take suitable damage, their aura will dip into the yellow, and finally the red."

"If your are knocked out of the combat floor, that will constitute a loss. If your aura is in the red, it also means that you've lost the match. When their aura drops to red, all combat for that competitor will cease. There is a reason why we have a strict no-combat policy for if one's aura is in the red. Once your bar runs out," Glynda said, somehow adopting an even sterner voice, "this means that you or your opponent has no remaining aura left. Any attacks after this point will do you physical damage. There will be no tolerance for this, so do be careful."

Glynda walked off the floor, giving the two girls space to fight. Blake eyed Pyrrha warily though Pyrrha kept a blank face, standing with quiet confidence and not even the slightest bit of cockiness.

"Let's have a good match," she said to the dark-haired girl. Blake smiled and gave her opponent a tight nod, backing away from the girl slowly. Glynda pressed a few buttons on her scroll, and a three second countdown began on the giant screen.

Once the countdown finished, a horn blared out, signifying the start of the match much to Jaune's eagerness. Neither girl moved at first, both taking the time to assess the other.

With a slight shift in her footing, Pyrrha charged at the girl first, her shield held in front of her with her sword at the ready as well. Blake held out her own weapons defensively, tensely awaiting the champion's quick charge. The redhead smashed straight through her, black smoke dispersing as Pyrrha's blitz did not make any physical contact. Blake appeared at the girl's flank and attacked but the redhead had been waiting for her, deflecting the attack with her shield and swinging her own sword, hitting the bow-wearing girl in the side.

First hit to Pyrrha.

Blake took the blow as best as she could and jumped back to gain some distance before Pyrrha could land another one, but the redhead did not allow her any respite, charging right at her again. Forced to dodge again, the dark-haired girl made use of her Semblance once again but this time Pyrrha seemed to follow her accurately despite the brief stealth it provided her.

She grit her teeth as she barely avoided another strong blow from the Mistralian champion. Unlike most of her fellow students here, Blake grew up outside the Kingdoms and was involved in a lot of direct conflict instead of just in-class sparring. She had assumed that this would give her an edge over others in combat, but she had never fought such a difficult opponent before.

Ducking a swipe, Blake tried attacking Pyrrha in another desperate attempt to regain a little bit of control but Pyrrha deflected with her shield yet again. Another attack came from that dreaded red and gold weapon, forcing the girl to block it. The force behind the slash was jarring the the beauty knew her aura had to have taken a dip even though it had been blocked. Using her Semblance again, Blade jumped back. Pyrrha completely ignored the clone, shifting her weapon into a rifle and firing a few shots at Blake's feet, causing her to roll out of the way.

It seemed that no matter what she tried, regardless of how she tried to confuse the redhead with her Semblance, Pyrrha always seemed to know where she was or where to attack. Despite them being the same age, this was the first time that Blake felt so utterly… outclassed.

As her roll ended, Blake looked for her opponent only to feel a shield slam into her from the side, knocking her onto the ground. The horns blared again, and she heard the teacher call the match.

A hand was suddenly in front of her face and Blake looked up to see Pyrrha standing above her with a friendly smile on her face. Blake took the proffered hand and was pulled onto her feet.

"Good match, Blake," Pyrrha said, "Well fought."

Blake gave the girl a disbelieving look, looking up at the scoreboard. Her own aura was in the red while Pyrrha's was completely full. Well fought indeed; Pyrrha hadn't taken any damage. But the girl's smile was so sincere and kind that she found herself smiling back.

"Thanks," she replied as Glynda walked back onto the floor.

"Well done," she said to both of them, "As you can see class, Miss Belladonna's aura has fallen into the red, signifying the end of the match. Now, let's have another demonstration. This time, I will use a randomization process like you will see in future tournaments should you take part."

The screen flipped through the portraits of all the students. Jaune, having enjoyed the previous fight immensely, watched the board eagerly.

"Mr Branwen and Mr Thrush, please make your way to the floor," Glynda called out, looking at the chosen combatants. Jaune practically ran to the floor in excitement, hearing Nora and Ruby cheer him on. The other boy, Russel Thrush, seemed a lot more stricken.

"The rules are the same as before," Glynda said. She gazed at Jaune for a moment, perhaps trying to communicate something to him, but the blond had no idea what. Again, she left the floor, activating the countdown for the match.

As the clock counted down from three, Jaune withdrew his weapon, releasing the blade but deciding against using it in its scythe form. Russel eyed the blond cautiously as he held his daggers up, obviously thinking of Port's class from earlier.

Jaune heard the horn blare out again, but didn't charge immediately like Pyrrha had. There was no way for him to ambush the boy so he had to take advantage of his other capabilities. He had a major advantage with reach, given how big his sword was to Russel's daggers. Qrow had told him one of his strengths was the explosiveness in his attacks.

Holding out his weapon, Jaune moved forward in slow, deliberate steps. Russel took a step back for every step he took forward but he was still getting closer due to his longer strides. Once he had deemed himself close enough, the blond bent at the knees and jumped at the boy. Swinging his weapon, Jaune aimed a horizontal slash at the boy's chest.

Russel ducked, completely dodging the blow but Jaune didn't relent, using a foot as a pivot to spin around completely and slash at the boy again. Russel completely dropped to the ground this time, dodging the swing again and kicking out with his leg. His kick was strong enough to trip Jaune and he pressed forward with his own attack.

The blond took the attack from the dagger, feeling the blow through his aura but countered by smashing Russel with the hilt of the sword. Russel stumbled back a bit but recovered faster than Jaune anticipated, getting inside of his guard and attempting to strike him in the shoulder.

Jaune leant away from the blow, only just barely avoiding it but was caught on his backfoot as Russel tackled him, landing another blow to his torso. Jaune swing his sword at the boy again, hoping to put some distance between them. To his relief, the boy jumped back.

"Come on Russ! Show him who's boss!"

Holding the sword in a defensive stance, the blond looked at his opponent a lot more carefully this time. He hadn't seemed like much before the fight started. His frame was thin and wiry, and Jaune assumed the boy wouldn't be able to take a heavy blow. But the blond wasn't exactly bulky himself, despite being deceptively hardy.

Russel charged at him this time, quick as a fox. He moved faster than Jaune expected, but not fast enough. He brought up the face of his weapon to parry the boy's dagger strike and stepped forward, slashing diagonally at him. Russel spun around the blow, completely evading the attack and slipping behind him. Jaune felt more quick attacks to his back, his aura preventing any serious damage from occurring. Spinning, he swung at the boy who again had backed off.

He felt his annoyance build. Reaper was a bulky weapon and despite his training with it, wielding the sword slowed him down compared to how fast and agile he was without it. Russel on the other hand had extremely light daggers. He couldn't do as much damage but his hit and run technique was perfect.

"Go Jaune! You can do it!"

"Not as strong as you made us think, huh?" Russel said, smirking at him. Jaune narrowed his eyes at the boy.

Grinding his teeth in rage, Jaune charged at the boy again. He moved faster this time, his speed fueled by his rising anger. He swung viciously at the boy as if aiming to bisect him. Russel was prepared however, meeting his blow this time. The boy flinched at the strength behind the blond's attack, feeling the damage it had done to his aura regardless of the block, but he pushed the sword back and attacked at Jaune's grip.

He wasn't able to avoid the attack and could only watch as Russel relieved him of his weapon by slashing at his wrists. As Jaune dropped Reaper, Russel kicked it away but didn't press his attack. Instead, Russel walked forward slowly with a cocky smirk.

Their positions had been reversed as Jaune took a cautious step back for every step forward. He glanced at the scoreboard. His aura was lower but that deflection from Russel had cost his opponent a decent chunk of aura.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked, "Scared?"

Jaune clenched his fist at the boy's taunting. It was one thing to hear Qrow mock him, but there was something else coming from Russel. Qrow was always teasing him, but there was a certain sense of disdain he felt from the boy. Russel looked… pleased.

"Don't worry Jauney," he said, "It's okay to be a coward."

The jeers and the shouts of support from his teammates, all the outside noise faded. His eyes glittered dangerously as he glared at Russel. The blood was pumping in his veins, he could hear the pulsing in his ears.

Coward?

Russel charged at him, intent on ending the match against his weaponless opponent. He did not anticipate however that the blond would be able to move faster now that he wasn't burdened with a heavy weapon.

Jaune's hand flashed out, taking hold Russel's wrist and avoiding the stab from the dagger. He pulled the boy toward him and punched him hard in the face. Russel flinched at the punch but lashed out with the other dagger. The blond caught this attack as well, now holding both of his arms. Rearing back, Jaune smashed his forehead into Russel's.

But he didn't let go.

Not caring that he was also doing damage to himself, Jaune headbutted the boy again. And again. And again. Russel didn't stop struggling and Jaune didn't stop his relentless attack.

The horn blared and he heard someone call the match, but he didn't stop. It didn't matter that both their aura's were now in the red. It didn't matter.

Not until he won.

He smashed his head into Russel's one final time, finally knocking the boy unconscious. The blond felt something split in his head, under the white bandage. He ignored the blood that was now trickling down his head. It didn't matter, not now that he was victorious. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling better.

"ENOUGH!"

Jaune looked over at Glynda who was furiously making her way to the floor, both his team, RWBY and JNPR, as well as Russel's team making their way to the floor. Realizing he was still holding Russel's limp body, Jaune let go unceremoniously, letting the boy hit the ground.

"You!" The boy that tripped him in Port's class made his way forward threateningly. Jaune tensed but Glynda held her hand out.

"No, Mr Winchester. Take Mr Thrush to the infirmary immediately. Your team is dismissed," Glynda said. The boy gave Jaune one last glare before gathering his teammate with the help of another.

"Jaune..." Glynda said, but she paused as she carefully considered her words. She remembered her conversation with Qrow. This was bound to happen, he was a ticking time-bomb. It frustrated her to no end. What could she do that didn't poison him further, one way or another?

"Jaune, what was that?" Ruby asked quietly. Pyrrha approached him carefully, looking at the injury on his head worryingly. The rest of the group looked at him cautiously while the remaining people in the room whispered amongst themselves.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked curiously.

"What- what-"

Jaune looked up at the scoreboard, noticing both his and Russel's aura were completely depleted. He looked back at his friends.

"So… did I win?"

fin


Notes: And we've come across Jaune versus another person.

He's not as strong as some people might have thought. He was actually about to lose to Russel Thrush there if he hadn't been underestimated at the end there. See, Jaune has a lot of experience fighting Grimm but not so much against other people. Even against Russel, three months of Huntsman training is not enough. Qrow's weapon is all Jaune knows how to fight with because that's what he trained with, but it doesn't suit him. But he's a vicious fighter, and that is what will put people off and make him seem stronger than he actually is.

But this is where Jaune's upbringing (or lack of, rather) comes into play. He's been surrounded by violence, creatures trying to kill him for eight years. He's had three months of conditioning from Qrow to ready him for Beacon. We don't know exactly what Qrow taught him (well, you guys don't), but when put under pressure he reverts back to what he knows: violence, survival, and winning no matter what. There have to be repercussions for Jaune, but the problem Glynda will have is that it needs to be handled delicately. What he did was wrong, but Jaune doesn't really know that and more importantly, he doesn't understand that it was wrong.

Glynda's in for a difficult conversation. And in regards to Professor Port, I'm not meaning to write him in as weak or pathetic; we're simply seeing him mainly from Jaune's perspective and Jaune wouldn't really see or assume the man is all that strong given his boastful nature and general appearance.

As for the battle between Blake and Pyrrha, we're shown exactly how strong Pyrrha is. As it is, she wiped the floor with Blake who is an extremely adept fighter and one of the best in her peer group. I want everyone to know that Pyrrha is stupidly ahead of all her peers.

Anyway, drop a review and let me know what you think! Just a heads up, while this scene is long, not all of them will be, not until we hit around 2.x. Lastly, I'm taking a short break, I should post again in a couple of days.

knuckz