Dragonslasher20: Foolish me forgot to mention you! You were totally right with your statement. Johnson is indeed from a game…I think I said that in a reply to a different reviewer than you…I must learn to type with my eyes open :)
Nightraze: Glad to see that you love the story! The White Rose moments (confirmed, BTW) are a bit sudden indeed. I wanted to aim for the fluctuating feeling thing but…yeah…sometimes it doesn't work out that well. Either way, here is a next chap!
Tuutje07: Look at you, little Miss Fletcher :D So many questions, so little answers. Let's see if I can provide a few:
Jaunadice is the name of the Arc in RWBY.
Lovely little Will has been around in the Kingdom for 10 months, doing stuff. He came from places. The 'Slaughter at Warehouse Six' can be considered difficult for some people, easy for others.
A conflict in Vale is a conflict in Vale :p Spoilers!
Darkness is darkness…spoilers.
Perhaps Onyx is O, perhaps it is Oxford, and perhaps it is even Oobleck.
Letter origins: spoiler.
Politician guy is indeed the one from the warehouse. He is…secured now.
As for your last question: Music, images, events, thoughts, nature, movies, sleeping, dreams, I gather inspiration from all around me. It is a bit chaotic sometimes…
And special shoutout to Lay Down Hunter: by the time you read this, I guess that you will have officially caught up with the chapters. It is awesome to see you reviewing here and reading your reviews –as always- makes me very happy!
ONYX DATABASE VERIFICATION REQUEST
ACCESS REQUEST: █████
Item: Jaune Arc
Threat level: medium
Description: Latest spawn of the Arc family, J. has expressed extreme desire to be a hero and protect the innocent. Skillset moderate, mindset roughly equal to that of R. Rose.
Open attachment Alpha: future research requested.
Additional notes: alright, who wrote this? Future research my ass; we know that the kid doesn't have any legit records. Who was the last to access this? Changing the files for your own merit is not acceptable, people!"
Vale City district, 9:20
Pyrrha Nikos laughed heartily as Nora told the group what her experiences with flying were; or rather, what her experiences with air-crashes were. By using the recoil of her weapon in most efficient way, she was able to fly through the air without much difficulty. It enabled her to get the drop on her opponents and enemies as well…
…unfortunately she had yet to really stick the landing.
"And then I landed on his head and he was sad." Nora finished her story and grabbed her plate, ready for round two. The nine of them had all taken place around the various tables that were scattered throughout the interior. RWBY and JNPR were all sitting at a large, square table while Will took his own apparent pleasure in sitting alone at another table a few feet away from them, still looking at them. He had his back turned to the table he was sitting at so that he might keep a close eye on them…or simply listen to their conversations.
People sometimes enjoyed sitting near a group without actually talking to the group; it was a way of relaxing. Pyrrha knew that Grace Auburn had a grumpy uncle that communicated with growls and mutters instead of human words. "Humph. Humph hum hum huff hrufmp." Were the exact words of the demolitions expert when she explained how said uncle had pondered on the meaning of life.
Where was team LACG anyway? If they didn't hurry up soon, the places at the table would all be gone.
"Flying never seems to work out very well for our team." Ruby said and grabbed another cookie in her hand. "It always ends with someone crashing into something…or something crashing into someone…"
"Speak for yourself Ruby!" Yang laughed and grabbed a cup of tea that had been standing there for two minutes. "Flying works fine with me."
"It's probably the aviator glasses." Blake said and blew on her own tea, trying to get it to cool down.
"They didn't look very stylish though." Weiss replied. "It's good thing that you didn't keep wearing them."
"But why? I love wearing glasses and goggles! Besides; Professor Matt got me those new ones a week ago and I have yet to actually wear them. So if Ruby can get Professor Johnson to relinquish his car, I can kill two birds with one stone."
"Ehm…what?" Jaune asked.
"Ruby promised me a ride in a jeep with a really big gun and that Puma is the one I want to ride in. So if I wear those glasses while driving it, I will have done two things that I really want to do at once."
"But those red glasses make you look like a criminal!" Weiss then snapped. "You will risk friendly fire incidents while wearing them!"
"Glasses won't make her look like a gangster," Ren said and cut a piece of bread in half. "She will still need the coat."
"But why do you think that Professor Johnson will allow you to drive in his jeep?" asked Pyrrha
"You see Pyrrha…" Ruby replied with a mouthful of cookie, before she swallowed and resumed the capability to talk properly. "I kind of promised Yang a ride in a car with a really big gun…I don't remember why, come to think of it…"
"Where would you find a car with a big gun?" Jaune asked.
"And there enters Johnson!" Yang laughed. "It's the perfect plan!"
"Until you are spotted of course…" said Ren. He was about to get up from his seat when the door opened rather loudly and four people entered –four rather familiar people.
"What's up people! LACG is in the house!" Lisa Adamant called with a smile. It was good to see LACG finally arriving.
"Morning." Jaune said and waved at them, indicating where the four newcomers could come to sit. "We saved you all a seat."
"Nice, thank you." Grace replied and the four of them made their way to their table. Now that all twelve of them were there –thirteen if one counted Will as a student of Beacon- all room that had been reserved for potential worry could finally be used for positive things.
Such as bragging rights…comparing weapons and sharing experiences…even talking about topics that other people did not fully understand, apparently.
"Dust is essentially the energy source for the world," Weiss explained the principles of Remnant's clean fuel. "It can be utilized for everything. Absolutely everything: ranging from weapons to fuel for cars to manifesting electricity for scrolls."
"But is it finite?" Cho asked her. "If Dust eventually disappears, what do we do then?"
"I…do not really know that. I know that it is retrieved by mining operations and that there can be unlimited Dust hidden in the world, but that is it," The Schnee Heiress explained.
"Hold on…" Jaune asked. "How does the Schnee Dust Company even get their Dust if our Kingdoms rarely ever work together?"
"An excellent question," Pyrrha said, feeling glad that his sharpness and attention to details had increased lately. "The city of Vale trades with various cities in the Kingdom, like Harvest. But how deeply established is the Schnee company outside of the Kingdom then?"
"That-" Weiss snapped, "-is confidential. The Schnee Company can't go around spilling their secrets to everyone they meet, or they would be ruined!"
"How would that ruin them?" mused Jason Cho.
"It's not like there are other Dust companies around to oppose them…" Lisa pointed out. "They're like, international. They've pretty much got a monopoly on Dust."
"An excellent point." said Pyrrha, "I would guess that they only distribute the Dust. Because right now everybody needs their Dust, don't they?"
"I agree." Blake said, "Just because the kingdoms don't work together in regards to politics, doesn't have to mean that they don't work together in trading. They would be stupid to do so."
"Indeed." Ren agreed, returning with a plate filled with scrambled eggs.
"Something of a different topic though," Ruby asked, "Pyrrha, you came from Mistral, in the east, right?"
"Correct, though it has been a while since I have last been there."
"Well…regarding the Mistral Tournament… I was wondering: do you know if any of the other cities have something like that?"
"I do not know whether the other Kingdoms have annual tournaments or not." Pyrrha said, searching her memories for anything that might indicate that Mistral was not the only region with such an event.
The table was silent for a few seconds before Lisa spoke up. "I want to bet that Arcadia and Luna won't be having those tournaments..."
"I want to say too soon…" Cho said and grabbed the coffeepot to pour him a cup. "But that war was two years ago."
"They are still having a cold-war though." Ren replied. "So basically their war just changed."
"So yeah, too soon."
"Damnit…"
"Do you know who might be able to tell us what other cities do? The exchange student." Yang smirked, causing all of them to turn and look at Will; the exchange student.
He did not remotely reply to their attention. On the contrary: he turned around and looked behind him, as if they were looking at someone sitting behind him. The boy had been sitting there the whole time, not even once standing up to get something to eat or something to drink. Perhaps he was just not hungry? Well…that would be a very strange thing indeed, seeing as they had been preparing for this event for three days at the least. If he had dinner beforehand, that meant that he was not here in the city for Breakfast.
So why was he here then?
"Hello!" Lisa snapped. "She means you?"
He stared at the two blondes for two seconds before he replied. "I wouldn't know."
Pyrrha had a feeling that he wasn't being entirely truthful. She had rarely heard him speak in the month she knew him and the few things he had said were all either lies, or farfetched. Like the time Jaune had asked him what he had been doing at the criminal compound, to which he had answered with "scouting". Or when Yang had tried to be social and ask him what sort of things he like, after which he had said, "resolving deadlocks at frontlines."
"That's useful." Weiss sighed and then she stood up from her chair to get some more food. The Breakfast Machine had a wide assortment of food at the ready; more so than Beacon had. There were at least five different forms of egg-dishes prepared, with bacon and sausages and meat products.
And of course, for the sweet teeth of Beacon (Ruby), there were muffins and cupcakes and the largest amount of cookies ever seen. It was like heaven for Ruby, who seemed to live on a diet of cookies and milk. There were even the Pumpkin Pete's cornflakes that she had advertised once.
Thank goodness that these were the editions without her face on the cover. That would have been very awkward.
"One of these days we should ask Professor Ozpin for permission to visit the other cities," said Jason.
"I do agree," Ren replied. "That'd be something."
But the silent student was making Pyrrha curious now. It was already established that he was a student coming from another school for unknown reasons. By all rights he should have more knowledge about how things were going in the Kingdom than other people. Perhaps they were not asking the right questions? Usually it took Jaune two attempts to get something useful out of Nora, so maybe the same thing worked with Will? "Which combat school are you from?" She asked the boy, who then turned to face her. Was it just her, or did he look…tired? His eyes weren't shining with positive emotions, that was for sure.
Either way, he didn't reply. He had the nasty habit of either replying with a long delay or not at all. But right here and right now he had no excuses to use to ignore a direct question. He had willingly come with them to hang out at this café, so he should at least answer a question posed directly at him. She didn't ask for much more.
After exactly seven seconds of silence –she had counted them- he gave an answer. An actual, real one.
"Onyx. Onyx Academy."
Onyx Academy…Pyrrha had never heard of that one. She knew of Sanctum, Signal and Beacon…but those could not be the only Combat schools in the Kingdom of Vale. There was a chance that this 'Onyx' lay somewhere in a city that she had not yet heard anything noteworthy out of, or even in a different Kingdom.
"Where is that?" Alessa surprised them by speaking up herself.
"On the border of the Kingdom," Will replied, not giving much a proper answer this time.
And with that last remark, the conversation about foreign schools had officially ended. It was a good thing that CRDL was not there to overhear them talking –as they were sitting at least three noisy tables ahead- because the subject turned to personal experiences…something that left all of them a bit vulnerable to each other. But they had been attending Beacon together for two weeks now; it was time that they got to know each other a bit.
Just a bit.
"So we have a deal? We go around the table and each one has to say something about themselves?" Yang summarized the process they were going to use to get familiar with each other.
"Fine by me," Ruby stated.
"Me too," Jaune joined her.
Lisa made it final. "Deal."
The morning went by very quickly. They had been sitting there for at least an hour since the café had opened. Beacon never gave them so much time with breakfast –at least not like this- and the wide range of food items made sure that they could potentially eat their full without ever having tried out all that the club had to offer.
But this Saturday was about more than just hanging out and having breakfast. It symbolized their friendship, the twelve of them. This day was meant for them all to get closer to teach other and if she was very honest, they had been successful in that.
"So I grew up with my grandparents," Grace stated and sat her plate with two boiled eggs and a sandwich down on the table. "My parents were…not really around much…but that's alright. Grandpa and grandma are really nice."
"Old people generally are." Jaune smiled and grabbed a muffin. "Just like my grandparents, I suppose."
"You must have never met Mauve senior-senior," Cho flatly stated and stirred his coffee a bit. "Never liked the old man, never will."
"Why not?" Ruby asked him.
It was a good question. When it came to disliking family-members, the subject of 'why' and 'how' was usually difficult to answer. To state that you dislike someone is one thing, but to answer it is another. Pyrrha was certain that Jason would have a hard time answering it.
"He is bossy, demanding, pushing, a bad father and prone to violence." The Cho then quickly summed up without changing his expression one bit.
That could happen too, she supposed. It did come as a surprise to her but…well, Jason was a relatively simple person when it came to feelings. Saying what he felt like at the moment without a problem –it was a guy thing. Probably.
"Sounds like a stand-up guy," Lisa sarcastically said.
"Taking things from bad parents gets progressively easier the older you get, I wager," Ren said.
"Yeah…probably…" Weiss muttered and stared at her orange juice for a while. Ruby glanced at her partner and then quickly said something to change the subject.
"Taking things when you get older applies to life in general, I want to bet," The young girl said and looked at Yang. "Just look at Yang! Almost bulletproof right about now!"
"There is no such thing as bulletproof," Lisa whispered.
Jason nodded. "I know."
"I wouldn't say bulletproof…" Yang and wrapped an arm around Ruby. "But I DO manage to resist quite a few things."
"Like choppers," Blake stated.
"And APC's," Grace added.
"Guys with pistols…" Weiss said, taking note of the sudden shift in atmosphere.
"Please!" Lisa joked. "We all did that; that battle does not count!"
"Alright," Yang said, suddenly all serious. "I take that challenge. What do you got?"
LACG's teamleader leaned forwards and her smile disappeared. "You're on. Plane crash?"
"Check: I caused it." Yang smirked. "Pilots were smuggling drugs."
"Hold on!" Weiss snapped. "You caused a plane to crash?"
"It was a small one!"
"Mine was a big one…" Lisa softly stated, looking smug.
Weiss alternated between looking incredulously at both of the blonde ladies and throwing Ruby a pleading look at Ruby. This was obviously not what she had had in mind when it came to a new subject. "Both of you? Seriously?"
"Engine failure caused by experimenting with new tech or –like Matt called it- Jiggery pokery."
"Jiggery pokery?" Blake slowly said. "That is what Professor Adamant called sabotaging a plane?"
Lisa groaned with annoyance at the memory and sat back again. "Long difficult story…we were supposed to have a trip and he promised me not to mess up and he did anyway. That was seven months back."
"I got one!" Nora yelled excitedly. "I once sabotaged an Ursa!"
That shut them all up. Ruby and Jaune stared at Ren, hoping that he might elaborate.
"She means that she stuck a tracking signal in his maw." The long-haired boy explained, causing a chorus of "Aaah!'s".
"Well…I once escaped my pursuers off a cliff," Blake then started the game again. "And I was successful."
"Who was pursuing you that you had to escape of a cliff?" Grace asked her.
"Extremists that did not agree with presence."
"Ehm...extremists?" Jaune posed another question.
"A Faunus-hate organization. Servants of Menagerie. They did not want me to stick up for the oppressed Fauna and chased me out of the city."
"Where was that?" Ruby asked.
"In Aozon. A small city south of Vale. I came there once, during my training. It did not go so well."
Lisa brought a glass of juice to her mouth. "You don't say…"
"Well…now that we are bragging about things," Grace remarked after yet another moment of silence. "There was that time that I rigged an entire warehouse with traps to prevent an Alpha Beowolf from escaping…"
"Hold on, WHAT?" Poor Jaune exclaimed. The adventures that people had been through were all amazing and beautiful…but she didn't think that Jaune had done any of that himself. By all rights he should be pretty upset about hearing those tales of heroism and exploit…yet he did not show any of that. He had a peculiar character –in a very good way. "They had captured a Beowolf?"
"Yeah…" The demolitions expert chimed. "I got asked to rig a facility to prevent it from escaping-"
"-it was an independent research group-" Cho added.
"-but things got messy. It escaped AS I was rigging the facility and then it proceeded to scare all the scientists away. So I thought 'hey, as long as it won't make its way to the foundations of the building where I placed the tripmines, I'll be safe.'"
"Don't tell me that went wrong." Yang asked.
"As it turns out, the lessons I had skipped that depicted the tactical placing of explosives in buildings DID have something useful to say. Only I skipped those, so…"
"The building blew up," Ren said and shook his head. "That was irresponsible."
"I know…and I was escaping the collapsing building I thought the exact same thing."
"I guess that the Grimm died in the explosion." Cho concluded.
Thankfully, Weiss and Cho had less insane stories to tell. The Schnee Heiress was talking about a giant set of armour she had fought, while Jason spoke of a high-speed car-chase on the highway.
Eventually, it seemed to occur to Blake that one person had yet to actually take place in their conversations. And the bow-wearing girl was right; Will had yet to say something. Perhaps he had some interesting stories to tell?
"And you then Will? Do you have anything to share?" Blake asked.
"Yeah. I don't think that it can get worse than sabotaging your own plane or blowing up a building you were supposed to protect." Pyrrha said, taking potshots at Yang and Grace respectively.
The answer was as simple as it was expected. "No comment."
"Aww come on!" Ruby cried out. "Please?"
"Don't be so boring." Yang added. "There's got to something in that weird little head of yours that is worth telling?"
"Don't make it boring though!" Nora ordered him. "I would hate to see that happen."
Why did that sound like a threat?
"Yeah…I could use a funny survival-story. You seem to be good at surviving crazy things," Jaune said, perhaps accidentally hitting a sore spot, as the student kept silent for a few seconds. He stared at Ruby with a somewhat stern expression in his eyes.
But then something softened and he tilted his head somewhat. "A firebombing?"
There was absolutely no trail of sarcasm or bitterness in his tone, yet he could not be serious with that. Of course such a thing was not funny; even Grace and Yang would agree with that and they loved to burn things.
"Depends on the target…" Lisa whispered, but nobody replied. The thought of a person not much older than a teen getting himself in a situation that demanded a fire-bombing was everything but funny.
"…Not funny…" Nora sulked, as if to prove that.
"What-?" Yang stammered, having one of her rare moments that she had no clue as to what to say. It wasn't odd for her to be at a loss for words: it seemed that there was not a single person capable of forming a proper reply to such a statement, because there were two possibilities. He either did survive a fire-bombing somewhere sometime or it was a failed attempt at humor; in both cases it was a messed up thing to bring up at such a moment.
Will didn't seem to wait for a reply and instead grabbed his scroll, opening it to check something. After that peculiar statement he did not reply to their conversation anymore, neither did anyone ask him anything again.
Weiss threw Ruby a glare that seemed to say: "You had to bring him with you, hadn't you?" And if the redhead's guilty face was any indication to her response, she had to be thinking the exact same thing.
It took the club at least five minutes to fully recover their joyous bantering, but Pyrrha was unable to fully shake the boy's statement off. Where in all of Vale had there been a case of a fire-bombing? And when? With Fire-dust, or napalm?
Cho gave a small cry of pain and then said, "So a fridge once nearly killed me."
Ruby nearly choked on a cookie and Pyrrha simply stared at him.
"Wait…what?" Jaune conveyed their thoughts at that moment and the Mauve started his story.
Ruby seemed to love story-time.
Day 27, Wednesday –main dining hall, 16:02
The days went by quickly as their education continued to present them with peculiar lessons and moments. It was one of the common traits of attending a Combat school that presented them with the full package to becoming a Hunter. Strange things happened on a daily basis, like Professor Matt and Professor Port combating each other with their ever-escalating ideas of a good lesson. After Port's exploits of taking a live Boarbatusk with him, Professor Adamant had kidnapped an alpha Beowolf from its pack just so that the class could see how it behaved.
And the Grimm studies weren't the only lessons that were going very strange. This very day they had had their study from Johnson again; the man had been explaining the terms of victory and defeat with the class, using a strange array of comparisons and examples to empower his statement. Where that soldier had learned to follow thought-patterns was beyond Jason.
"It was night!"
"It was day."
The score for the Badass-grades was also not making any sense; Johnson could not retract a given grade, but they had also yet to see what good those badass grades did. JNPR, RWBY and LACG had exactly the same amount of grades, while CRDL lagged one behind. But while Jaune –JNPR's leader- had performed sublimely during the past sessions, his performance had degraded immensely during this day's session. Johnson had asked Jaune whether he had been "Feeling the need to compensate for excelling" and Jaune had not replied to that.
But they knew the true reason for Jaune Arc's deteriorating performance at Beacon –at least Jason did- and it was something that was both very easily solved and too complicated to properly solve…at the same time.
"And there they were: a group of hungry Ursi!"
"They were Beowolves."
Because the three teams that had bonded to each other over the course of the past days were all very capable. RWBY existed out of four girls that had been able to fend off two attacking combat-helicopters, while Nora and Ren had been working together as hard as they could to keep attacking land-vehicles off of their teammates. Pyrrha had single-handedly defeated at least twelve guys attempting to murder her and Jaune, while under suppressive fire. And while Will had gotten himself utterly beaten, there had been about two dozen bodies scattered around the compound that had already been there before the teams meddled with affairs.
More than that: Weiss was the Heiress to the famous and international Schnee Dust Company, Pyrrha was famous in both the Mistral region and the city of Vale for her exploits and skill and Lisa was the sister of Matt Adamant, famous hunter and certified Madman.
That last one was not an insult.
"Dozens of them!"
"There were two of them."
So it was not a strange thing for Jaune Arc to feel like he was having problems. It was clear as day; Jaune was the least competent individual in their group. And while Pyrrha had defended his incompetence as a fighter, saying that he was an excellent leader –which he was, strangely- and that they should not underestimate him, she had also said that team CRDL was the most incompetent group in Beacon…but a recent session with Glynda Goodwitch during the PE exercises this afternoon had proven otherwise.
Cardin Winchester had beaten Jaune with great ease in their one-on-one duel. He had wielded his giant mace with great ease and even though Jaune should have been faster and more mobile on all fields, he had still lost tremendously.
Professor Goodwitch had said that it had been because of Jaune not knowing whether to attack or defend in such a situation.
Jason had thought that it had been because of his decision to block the attack of the unwieldy mace instead of dodging it, but that was just him.
He had no idea where Jaune had been trained and that was a peculiar thing. Lisa –his own teamleader- had been trained at home by her father and brother, while Grace had simply attended combat school in her youth. He did not know where Alessa had been trained, but she had proven her competence many times over.
And he himself had trained at the most competent Police Department in Vale, learning valuable skills like tracking, interrogating and hand-to-hand combat. They had all trained their way into Beacon…yet Jaune acted in battle like an ordinary civilian would…and others had started to notice that.
"But they were no match. And after we slew them all, we sold their hides and made a ton of Lien selling Ursa-hides!"
"She has been having this reoccurring dream for days now."
"And then Ren and I would live in a giant, Ursa-shaped house and be very rich!"
And while Nora explained her nightly affairs to the rest of them –with Lie Ren as her translator- Jaune continued to look as depressed as he had to be feeling. He had seen the skill of his team firsthand and he had also seen that the skill was needed to survive. People had been out to kill him –all of them- and they had succeeded in doing so had it not been for the exploits of his friend…and the helmeted soldiers that had come to help them.
And Jaune wasn't the only one who had noticed his lack of skill. Cardin –the school bully of Beacon- had noticed as well. His acts of violence against the kid had increased exponentially, to the point that he had even attempted to lock Jaune in his own Rocket-propelled Ordnance locker. The only reason why Cardin had been unable to enter the six-digit code that served as coordinates for the Locker to travel to was because one of the soldiers from Fireteam Lima had chosen that exact moment walk into the hallway during one of his –or her, whatever sex the soldier was- daily routines.
And as sure of his skills as Cardin was, the guy did not seem to want to mess with those five. So he had opened the locker to let Jaune out again –only to realize that the soldier had not given a damn about that when he –or she- had walked straight past the two of them without even turning to look at the bully and the bullied.
Cardin's bullying was enough to make Jaune feel depressed, he was sure of that.
"That is a strange coincidence!" Lisa replied to the story of Nora and Ren. "Last night I dreamt that I sold Cho for a ton of Lien!"
Jason threw his teamleader a short glare before he resumed his effort to eat his supper. History classes would begin in less than fifteen minutes and he had yet to finish his second cup of coffee –it was a good thing that today had been arranged differently to allow them all a free morning, but he had no desire to stay in a lecture hall till the evening fell without preparing himself.
"Oh she'd do it too," Grace pointed out.
"I am sure of that," he dryly replied. He knew that Lisa cared for him in her own way.
"How do you even know what she dreamt?" Ruby asked Ren.
"She wakes me up everytime she dreams it."
The table erupted in laughter –except for Jaune Arc, who continued to stare at his empty plate. It was so obvious that something was bothering him that they couldn't help BUT notice it. Both Yang and Lisa had been hanging at Nora's lips while she told her dream. Blake and Alessa weren't paying the slightest bit of attention…and Weiss was polishing her nails. Not a very social thing to do, but girls had needs. Pyrrha Nikos, however, was paying more attention to Jaune than to her other teammate.
So she too had seen him. "Jaune? Are you alright?"
The blonde shot upright when the red-haired girl reached out to touch him. "What? No, no I have been…I was just thinking, that's all!"
"Thinking?" Ruby asked slowly. "That didn't look like thinking to me."
"It looked more like pondering," said Jason.
"Guys, seriously I'm fine!" Jaune replied. His next action proved that he was not fine, however. He glanced at the general direction of team CRDL –and their newest prey. He watched as they surrounded Velvet Scarletina, the Rabbit-Faunus.
He had seen it himself, too. Cardin was laughing at the lone girl while Sky made fun of her ears. Very mature, but not relevant to their current problem. Cardin bullying Fauna was not important. Him bullying Jaune however, was. That needed to stop. A good dose of electricity ought to do the trick.
Pyrrha then started the painful subject that had to be addressed in order for them to be more effective. "Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since day one."
"Who?" Jaune said in failed mock surprise. "Cardin Winchester? Oh, he just likes to mess around you know! Practical jokes!"
That was a lie and everybody knew that.
"He's a bully," said Ruby.
"I…well…" Jaune started. "He's just…he never actually BULLIED me..."
"He almost pushed you down the stairs," Alessa told him.
"He knocked your books out of your hands at least four times…" Blake added.
"He activated your shield in a doorway, causing you to get stuck," Yang continued the count.
"He actually pushed you down the stairs," Ren then stated.
"He nearly launched you in your Ordnance pod…" Grace remembered him.
Jaune attempted to laugh it off. "But one of those soldiers saved me!"
"You know that you can just ask us for help, right? Just like that night?" Pyrrha took the lead again, but before the blonde could reply, another teammate of his took over.
"Oooh!" Nora yelled and jumped to her feet, presenting her evil plan to the rest of the table with a slightly less-than-sane smile. "We'll break his legs!"
Who was she now, a gangster?
"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he is a jerk just to me; he is a jerk to everyone!"
So now he freely admitted that Cardin Winchester was a jerk? He was contradicting himself, meaning that he was telling lies. Lies meant that he wanted to hide something –he was contradicting himself. Guilty.
The laughter at the table behind him increased in volume and he turned around to see what had been so funny for the other people. As he did, teams RWBY and JNPR followed his example. He saw what was so funny and frankly, he did not find it funny at all
"What…" Lisa started.
"That is sick," Grace muttered.
Alessa did not reply, but her hands clenched into tight fists as she beheld the sight.
"Are they doing what I think they are doing?" Ruby angrily snapped.
The cries of laughter got mixed with cries of pain as the poor subject of the tormenting attempted to resist. "Ow! That hurts!" She said as she desperately tried to get free. When her struggles proved faint, she stopped fighting back. "Please stop…"
Cardin continued laughing as he turned back to his teammates. "I told you that they were real!"
What?
Russel Trush grinned widely as he gave the Faunus a shove. "What a freak!"
She wasn't the freak here.
The girl known as Velvet was finally released from her torments and she instantly jumped to her feet and hurried off, holding her head low and attempting to hide her face all the while.
"Atrocious," Pyrrha growled. "I can't STAND people like him."
"He is not the only one." Blake darkly said, staring daggers at CRDL's position.
While Weiss Schnee was still busy with her nails, the blonde teammember from RWBY seemed to be more sympatric with the Faunus' plight. "It must be hard to be a Faunus…"
It was strange how even Will reacted more extremely than Weiss did. The normally ever-so stoic student had his right hand on the holster where a sidearm was stored and was already halfway in getting up from the table. For a split-second it seemed like he was going to attack the four boys from CRDL then and there, but he eventually decided not to and sat down again, his eyes not quite as emotionless as before.
Strange that he hadn't been staring at Cardin but at Russel…or was that just him imagining things?
And Blake Belladonna…she was having some curious reactions to the spectacle. Her intense anger at CRDL's treatment of the Faunus had turned around as quickly as it had come, turning into sadness and melancholy when Yang Xiao Long spoke of the hardships of a Faunus. Did that girl have a past with Faunus-kind?
Ruby Rose seemed to realize it too, as she alternated between staring at Alessa and Blake.
Jaune got to his feet and looked at the people surrounding him at the table; all of them his friends. Then he sighed and walked to the deposit area to dump his food-tray-
-and Cardin Winchester's gaze followed him all the way. There was some serious bad blood between the two of them it seemed. It would be a matter of time before things popped out of control.
With long, wavering strides, Velvet Scarletina made her way down the hallway to get…away. Just away.
This was exactly the thing that she had feared would happen. Her teammates had promised her that they wouldn't be gone for long, but in the end it hadn't changed a thing. Predators knew when their prey was at their weakest.
Why? Why couldn't they leave her alone? Why did it have to be her; all she had that made her different were her ears! What had those ever done to Cardin and his gang? Had a Faunus murdered his parents?
Or perhaps it was her…perhaps there was something about her that he could not stand. But whatever it was, it couldn't have been a reason for actual physical torture! Because that was what it was. Cardin had tortured her, mentally before physical. Why hadn't anyone done something? Why couldn't she just sit there in peace without someone coming to hurt her? She had done nothing wrong except being born like that; a Faunus in a hating world.
It was part of being different. She was different from the rest of those humans and that made her a target to them. It was so simple, really: Cardin saw her as different and different was wrong, so he took it upon himself to correct that wrong.
And she ended up on the suffering side…and her ears still hurt.
OF course they were real. They wouldn't even bully her like that if they weren't so that was just another snide remark…another attempt to get to her.
And it worked…they had genuinely scared her out of the dining hall. They were ruining her life like that, all those hateful humans…it was no mystery that the White Fang hated all humans and the way she was being treated, she could imagine why. People like Cardin…they deserved to be hated like that too. She had never willingly hurt a human in her life.
Why couldn't they just leave her alone?
Her feet carried her across the hallway and up the stairs, as far away from CRDL as possible. They had hurt her, of course she was scared! Scared of all that intolerance, scared of all that hidden malice and obvious ill intent.
Scared of all humans that were training to become Hunters, as any of them could be a sadist.
"Miss Scarletina?" A voice asked her, causing her to snap out of her emotional state. She recognized that voice…it belonged to someone that she knew.
Or at least wanted to know. It belonged to one of the few people out there that had honestly stuck up for her. It belonged to a person that humans feared as much as she feared humans –the irony was not lost on her.
She raised her head and looked around, surprised that she had not heard that person approaching. She had either been too hurt to pay attention to her surroundings, or he had been that quiet. Either way, she needed to do better than that. There were so many things that she needed to do better…so many things that she needed to work at. Half of those things regarded her own weakness.
Halfway into the hallway that she had just turned into were two of the faceless figures; one of which she could identify as the one she liked.
But why was that second one there? She could not trust him! Why was he-
One of the two gave a very subtle hand-signal to the other one and then disappeared; leaving her alone with the only Lima she could trust.
She knew that it was him because of his scent. As a Faunus, her senses were enhanced beyond normal human level. She could smell the same odour that she had smelled when Cardin had stolen her book. The memory was vivid, as the bullying had commenced once again.
His scent brought that memory back –both of the bullying and the protecting. Right now, she needed the latter.
"Situation report," He snapped at her as he walked over to her in a hurry with his hand in his hip –where his weapon was stored.
His urgency scared her a bit, but she could not show that she feared him. It had to be a simple mistake; she couldn't lose the one person who was friendly to her.
"I…I…what?" She stammered, not especially grasping the not-afraid mentality that she had wanted to use in this conversation. The soldier seemed…angry? No, not that. Distressed? At least urgent.
Her hesitation must have showed off, as the man stopped moving and straightened himself, relaxing his arm that had been ready to pull out his gun. "I mean…what is wrong? Is Beacon under attack? Are…you alright?"
That sentence sounded a bit forced, like he had trouble sounding friendly. Was that because of her? No…it wasn't that. He had heard that he had troubled her with his initial tone, so he had changed it to something better.
Plus he had recognized her. This brief encounter alone was proof that not everybody hated her –and that this person was in fact NOT a sociopath. He was just bad at being social like normal humans. There were more people like him with the same problem.
Despite the pain of her situation, she found a bit of humor in it all. She, a Faunus, was too "human" and this person, a human, was not "human" enough.
"Nothing…" She said and then as if her body had set that as a default reflex, she sniffed once. The soldier cocked his head to the side and then cautiously crept closer, as if he was scared that she was going to bite him. Like a rabid rabbit. "I just…I…you were there once…"
There she went again. She was perfectly capable of holding herself together once she was alone, but if she had to talk or even be near another person, she would break down in crying again. It was so pathetic…she was supposed to be a Huntress for damn's sake! Why couldn't she just be braver? Or stronger? Why did those bullies get to her and not to this person, who was walking around in a foreign place where everyone feared and hated him for what he did? What was wrong with her?
What did she expect? Pity? Did she honestly want that? Did she require pity for her pain to go away or did she need the pain to never come at all? No, not pity. Just some compassion.
But nothing like that happened…just like she had feared. She wasn't crying to get attention –far from it, as crying only got her negative attention- but she had also not expected this complete and utter lack of kindness either. Had she made a mistake? Did this human not care about her either? Was she just making a fool of herself in thinking that she could trust him?
"Ma'am, what happened?"
Was it just her, or was this person sounding impatient? Did he think that she was just being whiny or something? Who was he to judge her? He hadn't been there, he hadn't…he hadn't…
…he hadn't been sounding impatient. He sounded awkward. He was feeling awkward.
That was awkward.
"I can't take the bullying…" She softly said, trying to contain herself to a better degree. It was no use crying, she knew that. And she knew it even better now. "I just can't take it anymore…"
"Bullying?" The soldier repeated with a confused tone.
"Yes…for being a Faunus…" She whispered, finding that talking aloud would be the best way for her to lose her composure altogether. She was nineteen years old now, she shouldn't be crying over something like bullying.
Pain however, was a totally legit reason for crying. But what use was crying now? It only served to show her weakness…she didn't want to cry. It wasn't something that she did on purpose, it just happened. She never liked the fact that she cried so easily but…the tears just automatically come. And being humiliated like that in front of all other people didn't help either. There was a reason that she had walked away.
"Bullying made you…sad?" He sounded like a child trying to find out what its mother was saying.
It was funny in a twisted way…and if he wasn't careful, she would chuckle. That would be even more confusing for this soldier. "Yes, of course it does."
"Who mistreats you?"
Well…she couldn't exactly tell this person that team CRDL was picking on her. Even if it didn't scare her off as rattling them out, it wouldn't serve any purpose. He would either confront Cardin and get her in more trouble, seeing as Cardin did not know of her interactions with this male, or simply shoot the bully as his sense of good and wrong was a bit off. A bit much off.
The second scenario was unacceptable and with the first scenario, Cardin would assume the worst in thinking that she had told out one of the soldiers on him…and she would pay for that. No, she would not tell this person who had been tormenting her like that. Besides; the classes were about to start again and she couldn't waste time anymore. Whatever happened, she would still attend the colleges. Her team would want to know what had happened.
"I can't tell you that."
"Alright…is there anything I can do?"
"No…" She started to say, but then she reconsidered. "Well…if you know of a way to stop people from hating Fauna and bullying them, that would help a lot."
"Apart from shooting them? Just don't let the…bullying…get to you." He replied with the most stupid form of feedback that a person could say. She really needed to go now but...she was curious as to what this person had to say.
"It isn't as simple as that. But I guess…"
She looked at the appearance of the young man that used a number for a name –his dark tinted visor, his armoured suit and the various knifes and other forms of battle-equipment attached to his hips and chest. The sidearm hanging on his hip and the large rifle attached to his back weren't any indication to what he was as a person at all…but there had to be something more to him.
He had not been afraid of Cardin and had even done physical harm to him in order to get her book back…then he had given her the book without any problems about her being a Faunus and he had even walked with her to her room. And here he was, without any indication that he understood human nature at all. The fact that he did not know how much bullying could hurt, coupled with his easy killing of his enemies all indicated that he was either a very simple person or a very complicated person.
And he was honestly friendly to her. She liked that. "I guess that you wouldn't understand that."
"Perhaps not," He said. "But you can try."
"How would you deal with a group of people making fun of you for being a Faunus, with one pulling at your ears?" She then quickly asked.
"You identify the leader and utilize the opening to stab or punch him in his throat or crotch. Then you go for the kill by eye-trauma." He rather coolly while saying that.
"What?" She exclaimed with a shock. "N-no! You don't do that!"
"Why not? If they harm you, they are hostile."
"Y-you can't go around killing everyone who tries to get to you!"
His unwavering stare behind that helmet was hard to stare back at and she was completely and utterly unsuccessful in doing so. But when she averted her gaze, he stepped closer and grabbed hold of her ear.
Her first instinct was to scream and trash around in a spastic fit to get free, but she knew that he was not doing this to hurt her. That little sixth sense at the back of her mind told her so –but could she trust it? Why would this guy suddenly touch her like that? You didn't touch a Faunus' animal parts like that! You only did that as a sign of hate, domination or affection. And those emotions had nothing to do with this situation…right?
His touch was surprisingly light underneath his black gloves. The fabric felt surprisingly cool and smooth. He didn't needlessly tug at her ears or pinch them with his fingers, but it was very awkward to have someone doing that. She didn't dare ask him to let her go, but she had no idea why he did that.
Then one of his fingers ran over a sore spot on her right ear and she uttered a quick cry of pain; she couldn't help it, it just happened. Again. The tissue of her less-than-human parts were so sensitive that the lightest touch could send off an entire orchestra of feelings. Be it good or bad. It took them longer to heal, too.
He didn't let go just yet –first he brought his head closer to inspect her head more thoroughly and only then did he seem satisfied enough to release her.
Velvet was just about to ask him why he had done that when he spoke up again. "Your ears are lightly bruised at the base, but more heavily so at the middle. Put something cold on them and it should relieve the pain."
"I…what?" She tried words, but failed to do so. She unconsciously started to rub her hurt ears with her right hand, but caught herself and stopped. How did this man know how to deal with Faunus-ears?
"You should go to your college now. I need to finish my recon."
Nodding at the kind soldier, she was about to turn around when he spoke again. "And come to me when you need anything. I wouldn't understand it…but I can still help."
Oh…so he had taken offense at that…her bad. "Sorry…and I will…"But he was already walking away from her now and she really needed to hurry it up if she wanted to get to History in time.
There was finally something good that Cardin Winchester had brought to her life: she had met a new friend.
History classes, 17:15
Despite Jaune's every-increasing will to do well at school, it was really hard to concentrate when school offered topics like History and Biology…not to mention psychology. Those were your average topics that had nothing to do with learning how to fight monsters. Not to mention the sagging morale that had been suffering so much under Cardin's bullying. So while Professor Oobleck rambled on about stuff that was not even remotely relevant to his education, he tried to win back some missed sleep. It did not work so well…not only did the constant talking and questioning of his fellow students consistently wake him up, it was also really hard to get asleep in the first place.
Oobleck was a weird man. Had been since day one and had not changed a thing. He was constantly zooming about, asking questions and filling his body with never-ending coffee
"This is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as The Faunus War!" Oobleck zoomed up to the front of the class and the map covering the papers behind his desk in the span of one second. Then he pointed at a silly little spot on the map and took another sip of coffee. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie-"
"Yay…adamant…" Lisa cheered from her position a few meters to Jaune's right. Oobleck disappeared to the right of his desk for a few seconds to look at another student before returning to the front. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"
And then Oobleck rounded the classroom in two seconds and took at least three more gulps of coffee before he continued talking, zooming all the while. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"
Like expected, Velvet raised her hand, as did a few other students.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" And then there went another gulp of coffee. How much of the liquid-awake did that man possess? "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?"
Weiss Schnee raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"The Battle at Fort Castle."
So she had read the history books? Big deal…
"Precisely! And who can tell me what advantage the Faunus there had over General Lagune's forces?"
He could see Will –sitting next to Yang- frowning and pointing at something. Yang merely smiled and prodded him with her elbow, getting him focused again. It was good to see that those two finally got along with each other…things had been tense with him in the group.
Something solid hit the back of his head and he instinctively brought his hand to his head, turning around. "Hey!"
Unfortunately, Oobleck chose that moment to completely misinterpret his actions. The man appeared right in his face with his scary physics-breaking cup, ready to tear the answers out of him if necessary.
"Mister Arc finally contributing to class! Yes yes! This is most excellent, excellent! What is answer?"
Oh…oooh boy was he in a pickle now…quick, use brain! Think like mad! Use leader-skills! "Uhhh…" Win time! Do it now! "…The answer...The advantage…of the Faunus…" Excellent. Time has been won now use it!
…what was Pyrrha doing? Behind Oobleck's ultra-focused face, making gestures at him? She wanted his attention…she was giving him tips!
"…that they had over the general-guy…"
She was putting her hands to her eyes. She meant glasses. It was now or never.
"Binoculars!"
…it should have been glasses…he was an idiot…but the answer should have been enough to get Oobleck off his tail, right? The entire class was laughing and the Professor seemed slightly disappointed…perhaps it had not been as wise as to make such a remark.
"Very funny mister Arc!" The teacher said from behind his desk. "Cardin! Perhaps you care to share your opinions on this matter?"
"Well," Winchester said, "I know that it is a lot easier to train animals than soldiers."
He was lucky that the grumpy captain from messed-up team Lima wasn't around to hear him; otherwise he would be in trouble for that remark. Coming out of his mouth, it had to be sarcastic. An insult to Fauna for sure, but also a hidden remark against soldiers.
And perhaps animals.
Oobleck shook his hand when he heard that remark, but the rest of the class did not take it so lightly. While Will merely scratched his head in confusion, Yang was about to shout at Cardin –as were Lisa and Nora.
But Pyrrha beat them all to it with what had to be the smartest way of dealing with the smug jerk. "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"
That shook the large guy up alright. "What, you got a problem?"
Wait, that remark was oozing with violence and hidden malice. Cardin couldn't seriously be thinking about picking a fight with a girl? With Pyrrha?
"No," His partner then lightly said, looking at CRDL's leader with barely-hidden contempt. "I have the answer. It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."
Blake continued. "General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured, an example of 'War is an Art'." Then she turned to Cardin and delivered the most powerful burn that a person who was not Yang or Grace could deliver to a human being. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."
Jaune laughed at that joke, but quickly stopped laughing when he realized that he too had not been paying attention…but it was nice to hear Cardin getting smacked down in such a spectacular fashion.
Cardin jumped to his feet, a furious expression stuck on his face and his hands clenched. This was an open declaration of him wanting to hurt a girl and that was unacceptable. If Winchester wanted to fight against Blake and Pyrrha, they would NOT be standing alone. He would grab his book and-
"Mister Winchester! Please take your seat!"
His open joy in seeing Cardin getting ordered down by Oobleck must have been visible, as the coffee-drinking Professor suddenly stood in front of him. "You and mister Arc can both see me after class for additional readings. "
Great...that was JUST what he needed; more homework to do…
"Now then, moving on to the personal matters. Last time I asked you for your opinions on these matters and I seek to continue that! Mister…Will! What is your opinion on the matter of hate against Faunus-kind?"
"No opinion."
"No no! That is just wrong! Exactly that is the source of this lack of understanding. You must tell me how you feel about this, only then can we breed understanding! Understanding breeds respect, respect breeds mutual agreement!"
The student didn't seem to understand the proper procedure in classes with Oobleck. When he asked you something, you tried not to mess it up. Jaune still had difficulties with that at times, but at least he replied to the question that had been offered to him. And while it had been completely wrong and ended up getting him in more trouble than when he had kept his mouth shut, he had still replied nonetheless.
"I don't shoot you because you wear glasses."
The class grew very quiet after that remark. There was just no way that Oobleck would accept that as an answer; not only did it speak of needless violence, it also indicated that he has shot people for other reasons…which was basically needless violence. It was the gangster-compound all over again. At the very least he did not express racism or hate against Fauna…Faunus…whichever it was
"Yes! Yes! Very good!" The green-haired man suddenly snapped and appeared behind his desk. "Racism with difference as grounds is precisely what has spawned the conflict of seven years ago, during the protests in front of-"
And the rest of Oobleck's words were lost in the slur as Jaune attempted to fall asleep again, hoping that this was just one big nightmare. He had absolutely NO desire to go to those extra readings…but he had little choice.
So when the clock hit 17:45 and it was finally time to leave, everyone but him and Cardin streamed out of the lecture hall.
And then Oobleck started his speech. "You two have been struggling in my class since day one! Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is…" He took an extra-long gulp of his coffee, before setting the mug down.
An indicator that things just got serious.
"It stops now! You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it. History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it. Pages fifty-one to ninety-one! I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now! Run along."
And with that the man zoomed out of the classroom in a green and white blur.
He sighed and got to his feet, trying to remember what pages fifty-one to ninety-one were about. But before he could even get to Pyrrha –who had been waiting for him- he suddenly found himself at the receiving end of a rough push and he stumbled forwards, almost losing his balance in the process. Only a timely intervention from his partner saved him from falling.
Cardin laughed at his misery and walked off, completely missing the threatening face that Pyrrha pulled. At him then.
"You know…" the girl said when she helped him up, "…I really will break his legs."
He didn't respond…there was no point to it. There was nothing that he could do to make this change; he couldn't even take the fight to CRDL to show them what he was made of; they would just beat him again.
"I have an idea!" She suddenly exclaimed and grabbed him by his arm to drag him with her, ignoring his attempts to get her to let him go. "Here, come with me!"
Pyrrha took him to an empty rooftop from where he could see almost all of Beacon Academy…an impressive sight for sure.
He was depressed, he had to admit. Cardin's bullying and his own incompetence were working handily together in taking him down quite a few nudges but…he still had friends to help him. He was part of a group of twelve people that were capable of doing so much more than simply aiding each other in battle.
Pyrrha knew that he was depressed, but she also had to know that he took great comfort in her presence; in the presence of everyone around him. So…in that regard…he did NOT want to jump off the building. He had no idea why his partner had brought him there if not for that purpose.
"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." He said, hoping that the redheaded girl would not push him off the roof. Of course she wouldn't do something like that, but he had no idea what the intentions of people close to him were right now. For all he knew, Pyrrha had brought him there to make a harsh statement about him needing to suck it up.
Yes…that had to be it. It had to be her making a statement. "I can always be a farmer or something…"
Pyrrha kept switching between staring at him and looking down the edge of the roof as he was speaking. When he was done, something hit her in her mind as she suddenly stepped back, an expression of pure horror on her face.
"N-no!" She yelled and grabbed him by his shoulder, pulling him away from the edge. "That is not why I brought you here! Jaune, I know that you aren't the strongest of fighters right now so…I want to help you!"
Hold on…was she taking pity on him? Is that what this was? Pity help? "What?"
"We can train up here after class so nobody can bother us!"
"You think I need help?"
"N-no!" The girl then quickly replied, trying to go back on her words. "That's not what I meant."
"But you just said it."
"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"
Oh no…they had come to that subject. He had feared that it would come to this for a long time now. Ever since Glynda had told him that he hadn't improved one bit, he knew that someone would eventually find it out. And while Pyrrha didn't specifically talk about it, it would be a matter of time before she found out.
And he couldn't bear the thought of her finding out that he had lied. "You're wrong… I-I don't belong here."
"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!"
No. She didn't understand. "No I don't!" He snapped, seeing that there was no way out. "I…"
Now it would come. The moment that he had dreaded. Perhaps she would forgive him? "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."
"What?" Pyrrha whispered. "What do you mean?"
"I lied!" He yelled and turned around, not wishing to face the one person that he had trusted for so long –the person that had seen him as a great leader. "I didn't go to any combat school, I didn't have training and I didn't do anything to earn my place here!" It hurt him…hurt him SO much to have lied to Pyrrha…and to yell at her now. He hadn't wanted to lie and he sure as hell didn't want to snap at her like that but…she didn't understand. She needed to understand…
He didn't want to lose her friendship.
"I got my hands on some fake transcripts…and I lied…"
"Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because this is what I want to be! This!" He spun around and gestured at himself for emphasis. "My father…my grandfather and HIS grandfather were all heroes! People who saved other people, people that could be trusted and depended on! I wanted to be one too but I was never, ever good enough!"
It came like a waterfall. He couldn't suppress the emotions he had been feeling for weeks now. Cardin belittling him, the lessons being too difficult and everyone around him surpassing him in every way possible, it was all just too much.
Ozpin choosing him as a leader was also an insult. What sort of leader was he now? Who could let stress and pain come to him like he did? Not a leader.
Pyrrha approached him slowly and placed a hand on his shoulder. It felt warm and comforting; like a beacon shining through his misery. He couldn't let this get to him…he couldn't allow himself to fail like this. He needed help…he needed something to help him get through all this but he could NOT ask that from her. Not from her.
He didn't dare to look in her eyes.
"Jaune…" She tried.
He didn't want to look her in her eyes.
"Jaune, look at me."
Damnit. He looked up and met her gaze, staring her directly in her green eyes. Of course he couldn't ignore her wishes; he cared for her.
"Let me help you." She urgently spoke.
"I…" He muttered, not knowing what to do. "I don't…I don't want any help…I can't be the helpless person anymore Pyrrha…I just can't."
"Jaune, you know that you are never the helpless person anymore," She started, "not after becoming the leader of our team. Ozpin saw your potential and made you the leader! And you had the bravery to stand up to the captain of those soldiers, something that nobody else had! You have so much potential."
"I…I don't want to be just that! I want to be able to be a hero, to be a trues Huntsman! I am so tired of seeing my friends struggling and fighting for their lives while I, the lovable IDIOT! AM STUCK IN A TREE!"
He had not meant to scream at her like that, but this was his biggest problem. It was his darkest side: the part of himself that he hated the most. People took pity on him and laughed at him and his oh so funny little incompetent head, but he truly feared for the consequences of his skills. His entire family had been heroes before he got to Beacon…he couldn't fail them. He couldn't fail himself.
His own inept character was going to be the death of his friends.
"If…" He whispered, feeling so much pain for having treated Pyrrha like that, "…if I can't do it on my own…then what good am I?"
"You are more than simply good." His partner then replied, not looking remotely angry at him for yelling at her. "You are so much better than the people out there! Out here! Do you think that those soldiers could feel hurt for not being able to live up to the expectations of being a leader? Do you think that anyone at Beacon reached their skills without someone to care for them?"
She had a point…oh dear him did she have a point…but it wasn't that simple! And she couldn't understand…Pyrrha couldn't understand…right? He had to compensate for his irresponsible lack of skill all by himself. He had to train himself…because that would be the first time that he had accomplished something all by himself.
And in doing so, he could be that much closer to leading JNPR like a good leader.
"I need some time to think." He told his closest and dearest friend. "But…I…you have already done so much for me now…I can't ask you to do this…not now. Please…can you let me think? I will see you in in half an hour…I promise."
"Alright…" Pyrrha nodded and brought her other hand close to his shoulder, practically taking him in an embrace. "But remember to keep your heart close."
After having shared that cryptic remark, she turned around and walked away, her red hair waving after her as the wind suddenly increased in strength.
She was right…to a certain extent. And if he gave this some thought, he might be able to turn this around. He didn't specifically need anyone to actually help him…but it wouldn't do him any harm if anyone gave him tips, right? Taking tips from other people was indicative of intelligence and tactical knowledge…so if he took tips from his friends, it would both make him a better leader as a better fighter.
Yes…that could work.
In his heavy thinking, he almost failed to notice the scratching sounds behind him. They didn't really seem important, but it occurred to him that it might not really be natural.
"Oh Jaune…" a mocking voice said, shaking him out of his thoughts.
No…that couldn't be. It couldn't be him…not now, not when he had just poured the contents of his heart!
He turned around and saw the one person he had not wanted to see that night: Cardin Winchester. "Cardin!" He replied, automatically taking a few steps backwards to avoid the muscular male.
"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!"
He hated him. He hated Cardin Winchester but right now, the guy had him in a deadly spot. He would most likely spill his secret and ruin his one chance at having a good life. He couldn't allow that…he had to do something!
"Cardin-" He said, not liking the way his voice suddenly sounded, "-don't tell anyone…please. Don't tell anyone what you heard!"
Threaten him. Attack him. Offer him something, do anything to prevent him from ruining your life!
"Jaune come on! I would never rat out on a friend like that."
A friend…him? No, no this was a trap. If Cardin told him that he was a friend, it meant that he wanted something. He was going to blackmail him.
"A…a friend?"
"Yes. The way I see it, this can be seen as the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We can be friends for a very long time now…" He stepped closer and grabbed him by his neck, pulling him closer. "That being said, I do not think that I am able to do those extra readings that Oobleck gave us today. I need to start plans, concerning a few people. Do you think you can take care of that…?" His face came closer to him and he brought his mouth to his ears. "Buddy?"
He swallowed and nodded slowly, realizing that he was very, very screwed right now.
"That's what I thought." Cardin then grinned and returned to the edge, where he lowered himself again. Don't worry Jaune; your secret is safe with me…"
"Remnant's largest threat is not just the Grimm. Grimm can be predicable, can be planned for. Humans however, are not. Some can't be bargained with. Some are too deeply stuck in their own believes, like a feral animal. And then there are some that know precisely what they are doing. And they enjoy it. Such people are intelligent, charismatic and dangerous. And worst of all, they come in groups. Groups that gather in secrecy, outside the government, planning their own moves and their own agenda. Groups that, if left unchecked, will destroy all we hold dear. Groups that are identified and destroyed without anybody ever finding out, because everybody has a basic right to live a life in peace and sanity. Because otherwise, nobody gets to live in peace. When the call comes, all of us are ready to do whatever it takes
Time for honest things now: first of all, writing about emotions like love and other feelings is VERY difficult for me to do. If they seem forced, too small or too big, just tell me.
Second of all: the bullying. While some people might see bullying as something that can't really be a cause of trauma or pain to people -even less so at a combat school like Beacon- there are also people that take bullying very serious. I have made the emotional consequences of both Velvet and Jaune as I expect people to feel and behave after having been through such an ordeal and I can agree: it might seem a bit too extreme to have people react like that.
But while both Velvet and Jaune are very emotional people, less emotional people can be struck even harder by less hurtful events than expressed in RWBY –and by extent, this fanfiction. I for one have experienced the effects of severe bullying first hand. Sure, I was still very young – it started at…5 years old- but I still remember what it felt like. And what it should feel like. And I know that the victims in this story aren't silly little children but teenagers, but the feeling should stay relatively unchanged.
So if you couple my problems with conveying emotions and own personal experiences, the scenes might seem a bit…over-the-top or less realistic. I don't use excuses as reasons for bad writing, but I just wanted to let you guys know this.